Chances
by DreamWvr73
Summary: A rash of fires in the LA area and the death of four firemen bring together Station 51 and the Phoenix Foundation.


Johnny Gage was leaning forward, his arms crossed over his chest.  He was holding his upper right arm; cradling it close to his body. The dark haired man's face and uniform were covered with dirt and soot, smelling strongly of smoke.  Johnny sighed, his left shoulder was throbbing, he was pretty sure it had been popped out of its socket. 

"How you doing Johnny?"

Roy was sitting beside his partner, leaning back in his chair. He was pressing his hand to his left side, every breath he took causing that whole area to twinge and pull.

Johnny turned his head, looking at his partner. "Terrible, you?"

"The same." Roy sighed, shaking his head. "Course, we're lucky, the ones that were actually inside that building are worse off then we are."

Roy was right; the waiting area of Rampart Emergency was littered with smoke scented, blackened, injured firemen.  There were over a dozen firemen from three fire stations that had been involved in the Long Beach blaze; four of them from Station 33 had been killed. 

Kelly Brackett sighed as he came out of the exam room. He wiped his hand down his face as he walked over to the counter. Dixie McCall was behind it, she had a list of the injured fireman in her hands. 

"So who's next Dix?"

The head nurse looked down at her list. "Johnny and Roy are next." She motioned to where they were sitting.

Kel took the clipboard from her and looked at it. "What's the problem?"

"Johnny has a dislocated shoulder, Roy has possible broken ribs, he's complaining of side pain."

The dark haired doctor nodded. "All right, can you call Joe Early to come down and lend a hand?"

Dixie raised an eyebrow, a small smile on her face. "He's on his way down now Kel."

"I owe you one Dix, thanks." 

Kel gave the nurse his most charming smile as he gave her back the clipboard and crossed the room to the corner where the two paramedics were sitting.

Johnny and Roy were taken to exam room 3; Roy was immediately taken to x-ray to get some photos of his side. Johnny hopped up on the table, his legs dangling. His shoulder was really beginning to hurt him and he closed his eyes briefly against the pain.

Kelly saw the way the fireman was holding his arm. "Take off your shirt Johnny, so I can get a look at that shoulder."

"It's dislocated Doc, I have no doubts about that." Johnny unbuttoned his shirt, hissing through his teeth as he opened the ends and slid it down his arms. His t-shirt was next and he groaned as he accidentally jerked his injured shoulder while pulling it over his head.

Dr. Brackett got out a vial and a syringe from the glass medicine cabinet. He filled the syringe with anesthetic, listening to the pained noises coming from the fireman. "Hang on Johnny; I've got the local right here." He stood in front of the injured man seeing how his arm was hanging at an odd angle. The doctor set the syringe and an alcohol pad down. "I'm going to take a look at your shoulder."

Johnny nodded and turned his head away. "Go ahead Doc but I'm telling you it's dislocated."

"I can see that, I just want to see how bad." Kel rubbed his hands together, slightly warming them as he began to probe his patient's shoulder.

The dark haired man flinched, gritting his teeth. "Man that hurts."

Kel stopped what he was doing.  "It's mild Johnny. You'll just have to baby it for the next couple of weeks, shouldn't affect your job any."

The fireman sighed out of relief both from what the doctor said and the fact he had stopped messing with his shoulder. "That's good, I didn't think it would."

Dr. Brackett picked up the alcohol pad and tore it open, rubbing it all around the top of Johnny's shoulder. "Is Min coming?" He set the pad down and picked up the syringe, taking to cover off the needle and tapping it to make sure it was free of air bubbles.

"Dix gave her a call for me, she should be here soon."

"Good, I better step on it then. " Kelly placed his hand on Johnny's shoulder and injected the local anesthetic into it.

Min's mind was racing as she parked her Mustang. She ran through the double doors, gasping when she saw all the injured fireman. The men were covered in black soot, sitting silently waiting for their turn. The young woman could tell something had gone terribly wrong; all of the men had solemn looks painted on their faces. She spotted Dixie and walked over to the counter.

"Dixie, what happened?"

The head nurse sighed, shaking her head slowly. "Fire out in Long Beach, destroyed a building and killed four firemen from Station 33."

Min closed her eyes briefly. "Oh no."

Dixie reached out and touched the young woman's shoulder. "Johnny's in Room 3."

"Thanks." She gave Dixie's hand a pat as she turned and walked around the corner.

A loud popping sound welcomed Min as she opened the door to the exam room. She saw her shirtless husband with his left arm straight out. Kel had a hold of it and was moving it down and up, checking his shoulder mobility.

The young woman breathed a sigh of relief to see that her husband was in one piece. "Johnny?"

Kel turned around and smiled. "Hi Min, don't worry he's fine."

"Min." Johnny was glad to see his wife; he got down from the table and walked over to her. He put his right arm around her and hugged her. He closed his eyes as he did so. 

Min held her husband to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." He pulled back and looked at her, his face growing sad. "We lost four firemen today though."

The young woman nodded as she touched her husband's face. "I know, I heard, I'm sorry Honey." Her hand traced down his cheek. "What happened?"

Johnny sighed as he sat back down on the table. "This building down in Long Beach was burning." The fireman shook his head slowly. "I've never seen anything like it Min, not ever."

Min stood in front of her husband and took his hand. "It was bad?"

"It was unimaginable." Johnny's dark eyes grew wide as his mind ventured back to the fire. "The whole building was burning and the heat was so bad, it slapped you in the face! The two others stations were there trying to get some kind of control over it. We got out the hoses and started spraying it down too but it didn't do any good! We were only there a few minutes when it just exploded! Like a thousand pounds of dynamite was in it. The blast was so strong everyone around it just got thrown back! I don't even know how far I flew; I landed on my arm and felt my shoulder pop out."

Min shook her head; the image her husband painted was terrifying. "And Roy?"

"He might have a busted rib, he hit a wall." Johnny wiped his hand across his eyes. "Those four guys that went inside, they probably didn't even know what hit them."

Dr. Brackett cleared this throat. "I'm going to go see how Roy is, excuse me." 

The doctor left and Min hugged her husband once again. "It could have been worse Johnny."

Johnny sighed, resting his head on his wife's shoulder. "I know, I don't know what caused the fire but it was bad. Just like those two fires last month in Santa Rose and Santa Monica, except that we lost four good guys."

Min nodded, stroking her husband's hair, she could tell that the death of his coworkers had really upset him. She knew there wasn't much she could say so she decided to say nothing and simply hold her husband.

The couple was still locked in their embrace when Dr. Brackett returned. He cleared his throat, announcing his presence. Johnny lifted his head from his wife's shoulder. 

"How's my partner?"

Kel smiled, nodding his head. "He's fine Johnny, nothing broken. He's just got some bruising."

Johnny breathed a huge sigh of relief, wiping his hand down his face. "Oh good, I'm glad."

"So was he, JoAnne just took him home."

Min turned around, facing the doctor. "Can we go too?"

Dr. Brackett nodded. "Yeah go ahead, just get some rest Johnny and be careful with that shoulder. It's going to be sore for a few days. Just take some aspirin."

Johnny got down from the table, picking up his shirts. "I've got the next two days off Doc, I plan to." He carefully put his uniform shirt over his shoulders.

Min reached down and took her husband's hand. "Don't worry Dr. Brackett; I'll make sure he takes care of himself."

The dark haired doctor nodded. "Yes I'm sure you will, see you later."

"Bye." Min put her arm across her husband's waist as they left the exam room.

"Come on Gill you can do better than _that!"_

MacGyver and Gillian were in a corner of the room standing on either side of the newest addition to the Assistant Director of Operations office, an air hockey table. The smooth surface was a bright shade of electric blue; it had lights on it and the roar of a crowd every time a new game had begun. It was a casual day; the couple decked out in shorts and their white Phoenix Foundation t-shirts.

Gillian had put her hair in a pony tail, a slight frown on her face. "I wasn't born on ice like _you_ were Mac, I'm doing my best!"

Mac bent down and retrieved a blue puck. "Just remember what I showed you, you're a demon on the ice."

"We aren't on ice, its different playing hockey on this table than in the rink."

"Not that much." He bent down, holding the plastic puck over the table. "Ready?"

Gillian widened her stance; she had her white mallet with the green felt bottom in her hand as she leaned over the table. "Ready!"

"Go!" 

Mac dropped the blue puck; Gillian managed to grab it slapping her goalie mallet against it, trying to knock it into the slot on her husband's side of the table. The loud clacking noise of the mallets went back and forth for several minutes until finally the young woman was able to slap it into the slot.

"Yes! All right!" She set her mallet down, arms raised above her head. "Score! Score! Score!"

The lights on the table flashed, the sound of the roaring crowd coming over the speakers.

MacGyver sighed, crossing her arms over his chest. He was watching his wife parading around. "You got _one_ goal Gill; you didn't win the whole game."

Gillian put her arms down. "Well not _yet."_

Her husband looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Oh I see, my aren't _we_ confident! One goal and suddenly you're Pat LaFontaine!" He flipped his white goalie mallet in his hand, seeing the confidence in his wife's grin. "Care to make a wager?"

"Sure, what do you have in mind?"

Mac smiled, his lips drawn back in a sinister grin.  "Well, if _I_ win, you have to buy me that pool table you've been _promising to get me for the back porch."_

Gill raised an eyebrow. "That's mighty high stakes for an air hockey game." She crossed her arms over her chest. "But I'll do you one better, if _I_ win, we get a pool."

The blond man hissed through his teeth. "Now _that's a high wager!"_

His wife nodded. "Yes it is, I'll go one higher up on you since all you want is a pool table. If you win I'll not only get the pool table, I'll throw in that fancy table hockey game you wanted."

MacGyver's dark eyes grew wide, he licked his lips. "The big one with the real glass and the electronic scoreboard?"

Gillian gave a nod. "That's the one; so what do you say?"

"You're on!" Mac reached into the bottom of the table and pulled out the puck. "And just to make it fair, best two out of three."

"Okay, let's do it!"

Mac had the blue puck, he dropped it in the center and the game began.

Pete had been trying to get a hold of his Assistant Director for the past half hour. Every time he dialed the phone was busy and the intercom was turned off. He had had enough; he left his office and walked next door. Before his hand closed around the knob he heard the loud clacking sound and muffled talking. Pete opened the door and walked in.

"MacGyver?"

Mac whipped his head around towards the sound of his name. The split second that his eyes weren't on the game Gillian slapped her puck into the slot. "Yes! I win!"

Mac turned back towards the table, his mouth open. "Oh _no_! Oh no no no no!" He bent over the table, thumping his head against the smooth surface.

Pete walked into the office, creasing his brow. "Hi, did I come at a bad time?"

Gillian ran up to him and kissed his cheek. "You're timing is perfect! Thank you!"

"Yeah perfect for _you_, lousy for _me._" Mac lifted his head and turned around to look at his friend. "You just cost me my pool table _and my table hockey game."_

"How did I do that?"

Gillian slung her arm around Pete's shoulder. "We were tied at one game a piece, we were into sudden death and you distracting my husband allowed me to score."

MacGyver got up from the table; he threw himself face down on his couch. "I don't think it's fair! The game should be declared a draw due to outside interference!"

Gillian sighed as she moved over to the couch and sat down on her husband's behind. "So what's up Pete? I mean you didn't come in here to just help me win my bet."

Pete sat down in the leather chair next to the couch. "I just got off the phone with the Mayor of LA."

MacGyver lifted his head; he saw the serious look on his friend's face. "The Mayor? What about?"

"Did you hear about the fire yesterday in Long Beach that killed four firemen?"

Gillian nodded. "Yeah we saw the pictures on the news and heard a lot of firemen got hurt."

The Director of Operations nodded. "It was devastating and the LAFD and the Governor of California want answers. There have been three fires in the LA area over the past three months; one in Santa Rose, one in Santa Barbara and now this one, a lot of firemen have been hurt but this is the first time there have been deaths.  They've asked us to look into the cause of this fire and if it's related to the other two."

MacGyver shifted onto his side, sending his wife onto the floor, right on her butt. 

"Ow!" The young woman got up, rubbing her behind. "Thanks a lot Mac!"

"That's what you get for using me as a chair." He grinned at her before turning his attention to Pete. "So you're here to ask me to lend a hand, right?"

Pete shook his head. "No not lend a hand, head the research team. You're experience with this kind of work with arson and your chemistry degree more than qualifies you. You also have ties to a fire station, the LAFD and 51 made you an official fireman." He looked at his friend. "So what do you say? Will you do it?"

Mac sighed, those were very good reasons. "All right, I'll do it."

The stout man in the navy blue suit sighed. "Great! I'll give the Governor and the Mayor a call and let them know it's a go."

The bright green grass of RestLawn Cemetery was packed with people. The large crowd divided into the family and friends of the four dead firemen and the press. The center section had four silver coffins lined up in a row, there were flags draped over each one. The four caskets were surrounded by every member of the LAFD and some firemen from the surrounding areas. All of the men were in their dress uniforms, dark blue jackets and pants; the hats on their heads were white with a dark brim. All of the faces of the bereaved men were pensive as they looked at the coffins. Among them were the members of 51, the 6 men had black arm bands and a black stripe across their silver badges.  Johnny and Roy stood side by side, like their fellow firemen; the two men's heads were lowered.

Min was sitting in the last row; she had on a simple short sleeved black dress, her long hair left down. She was holding Evan to her chest. The little baby in a blue bodysuit was holding his keys, chewing on them. His dark eyes looking with curiosity at everyone, the electronic equipment from the press seemed to hold the most fascination for him. The young woman sighed, wishing this terrible ordeal was already over with; the past couple of days had been very hard. She was listening to the priest talk about how bravely the four men had met their deaths and would not be forgotten.

A gentle hand touched her shoulder, causing her to gasp. She turned around and saw that it was MacGyver and Gillian. The couple was dressed in black; the biggest surprise was the black suit her normally casual friend was in. She stood up and walked around her chair, hugging both of them.

"Hi, what are you two doing here?"

Mac put his hands in his pockets. "Paying our respects."

Gillian nodded; she had on hand around her husband's arm. "How's Johnny?"

Min sighed, shaking her head. "He's been quiet, has been ever since that fire."

"I can understand that, it was pretty bad." Mac stretched out his arms towards Evan. 

The young mother handed her son to him. "I thought he was upset about the deaths but it's more than that."

Gillian looked over at Johnny, studying his face for a minute or two. She could feel what Min had been talking about. "Fear…"

Min turned around, glancing at her husband briefly. "You're right Gill; he's been a fireman for a long time. He's seen a lot of fires but none of them have ever frightened him before." She sighed heavily. "Not like this."

Mac was holding Evan, playing with his little fingers. "Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"No, I've been waiting for him to come to me."

Gillian reached out and touched her friend's arm. "Talk to him Min, he'll feel better once he gets it off his chest."

The priest was done, and the four flags had been neatly folded. They were presented to each one of the grieving wives. Min sighed; trying not to let emotion get the best of her, her heart went out to each one of those women. They all looked so devastated, their pale, tear stained faces were maps of grief and pain. 

"Can I have Evan back?" Her voice sounding a little harsher than she meant it to.

Mac and Gillian locked eyes briefly; they could tell what was going through the mind of the fireman's wife. "Of course."

Min took her son back, holding the little boy to her chest, closing her eyes as she did so. 

MacGyver stood beside Min, putting his arm across her shoulder and gently drawing her to him. Min leaned her head against her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry Mac I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's all right Min, something like this affects everyone."

Gillian reached out and touched Min's dark hair gently. "It's only natural to be upset; after all you _are married to a fireman." She gave the young woman a small smile._

"Those poor women, I feel so bad for them." 

Mac rubbed his friend's shoulder, trying to give her comfort. Gillian nodded; she too knew what it was like to be married to a man that had a dangerous job. "I know so do I." She raised her eyes to look at her husband. "I only hope they got to kiss them goodbye before they left that morning."

Min sighed, wiping her face. "I always tell Johnny I love him and kiss him before he leaves."

Gillian focused her attention back to her friend. "So do I because you never know."

The crowd of firemen began to disperse after each man paid their respects and gave their most heartfelt condolences to the widows. 

Johnny took his cap off, running his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he went to find his wife. He spotted her with MacGyver and Gillian.

Min heard someone call her out her name; she turned around, her sad face brightening when she saw her husband. She walked up to him, throwing her arms around his neck. Johnny closed his eyes as he held his wife.

MacGyver was holding Evan again; he smiled when he saw his friend. "Hey Johnny."

Johnny opened his eyes. "Hi, I didn't expect to see you two here."

"They came to pay their respects Johnny." Min let go of her husband and cleared her throat.

Gillian smiled at the paramedic. "Hey Johnny." She gave him a kiss on his cheek and hugged him.

"Hey Gill, how are you?" 

"Good, how about yourself?"

Johnny pulled back from her, sighing. "Well I've been better." He held out his arms and Mac passed Evan to him. The fireman's face looking less sad as he held his son and giving the little boy a kiss on the cheek; the innocent child in his arms made him feel better.

MacGyver cleared his throat. "Actually Johnny there's another reason Gill and I are here."

"Oh yeah? Why else?"

Mac looked around. "I need to talk to you about something."

Johnny creased his brow. "Something bad?"

The blond man moved his head a little from side to side. "Well no but it's important."

Min looked at her husband briefly. "What about?"

MacGyver sighed. "It's about the fire."

Johnny nodded, swallowing hard. "All right, let's go back home. We can have a little something to eat and talk."

The two couples returned to the Gage house. As soon as the front door was closed MacGyver took off his black blazer. The next thing to come off was his black tie; he pulled his white shirt out of the waistband of his pants. He looked up, suddenly realizing that his strip tease had gotten the attention of everyone including the baby. His dark eyes widened briefly as he cleared his throat.

"Excuse me; I really don't like suits, is it okay if I get more comfortable?"

Gillian raised an eyebrow. "A little late to be asking Mac, exactly how far down were you going to strip?"

Mac narrowed his eyes a little at his wife. "I was just going to take off my shirt."

The young woman grinned. "Sure! Go ahead!"

Her husband sighed heavily. "Gill… you watched me get dressed for the funeral, what did I put on underneath this white shirt?" He gave his chest a pat.

Gillian thought about it for a moment. "A tank top."

"Thank you!" MacGyver was waiting for permission to go on.

Min had Evan in her arms; she walked into the center of the living room and set him down to play on the carpet. "Go ahead Mac, Johnny is the same way about suits and his dress uniform. It would be cruel to make you stay in it any longer than you have to."

Johnny took his blazer off. "Yes I do feel the same way, I can't stand them." He looked at his friend. "But unlike _someone I prefer to do my stripping in the privacy of my bedroom."_

Mac grinned at him as he started unbuttoning his white dress shirt. "Yeah but what fun is that?"

Gillian shook her head as she followed Min into the kitchen. "I'll give you a hand with lunch Min while those two nut bars change."

The lunch consisted of grilled chicken Caesar salad, the four adults sat around Min and Johnny's large dining room table eating. Johnny had changed into a banana yellow t-shirt and black shorts. He wiped his mouth with a napkin before turning his attention to the man sitting beside him. 

"Okay Mac, now that we've all unwound a bit and are enjoying a delicious lunch that our wives made, what did you need to talk to me about?"

MacGyver was in mid chew, he politely waited until he was done before answering the paramedic's question. He had a sip of his ice tea and cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk to you about the Long Beach fire, what can you tell me about it?"

Johnny sighed, shaking his head. He leaned back in his chair. "By the time we got there the whole building was totally consumed, every single piece of it was covered with fire."

Mac turned in his seat towards him. "Was there anything unusual about the fire?"

"It was so hot, the minute I got out of the truck I was covered with sweat." The fireman seemed to be lost in his thoughts; he was watching the building burn all over again in his mind. 

Gillian could see that he was swept up in the memory of it. She reached across the table and touched Johnny's arm. "Johnny?"

He jumped, blinking a few times as he came back to reality. "Sorry, I guess I sort of phased out there for a second."

Min smiled as she got up and stood behind her husband. She rubbed his shoulders. "It's okay." Her attention turned to Mac. "Why do you want to know about the fire?"

MacGyver had another sip of his tea, he set the glass down. "The Phoenix Foundation has been asked to look into the fire. The Governor of California is interested because of the four men that died and the fact that this is the third fire in three months. They want to know if its arson or what exactly is causing it. Pete asked me to lead the investigation team. That's why I was asking Johnny about it, he saw it first hand."

Johnny reached back and one of the hands on his shoulders and squeezed it. "There was one thing about that fire that was unusual. In fact, I've never seen anything like it."

Mac leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Okay, what?"

Johnny looked at is friend, his face deadly serious. "The other stations were soaking the building down with the hoses but it didn't do any good… it was like…" He shook his head. "No, never mind."

MacGyver shook his head. "Whatever it is or how nuts it sounds Johnny, I have to know. Any little bit you can tell me about this killer blaze is going to help me find what caused it."

The fireman sighed heavily, giving his wife's hand another firm squeeze. "The water only seemed to make it worse."

It was now 10 o'clock in the Gage house and Min and Johnny were in bed.  Min was in her lavender nightgown, she was looking up at the ceiling; she was trying to decide whether or not to talk to her husband. She glanced over at him; Johnny had his back turned towards his wife, the covers down around the edge of the bed. He was completely uncovered, in nothing more than a pair of red cotton shorts.

The young woman sighed; Johnny never slept facing the other way.  Min decided it was time they had a talk. She curled up next to him kissing his shoulder, rubbing it gently.

"Johnny? You asleep?"

Johnny opened his eyes; he knew why his wife was asking. It was clear she had something on her mind. "No."

Min nodded, clearing her throat. "I think we need to talk."

Johnny rolled over, facing her. "About what?"

"What Mac wanted to know about today."

The fireman flopped back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He wiped his hands down his face. "Min you already heard me talk about the fire."

"I heard you talk about it yeah, but you didn't mention how it made you feel."

Johnny turned his head, looking at his wife. "What do you mean?"

Min swallowed hard. "You didn't mention that fact that is scared the hell out of you."

"It didn't." Johnny looked at her; he climbed off of the bed and started to leave the room.

His wife got up fast, grabbing his arm before he could. "Yes it did! It scared you to _death_ didn't it?"

"Min…I don't want to talk about this." 

Johnny had his back turned to his wife. The young woman wasn't going to take that, she had a hold of his upper arm and turned him around to face her.

"It's all right to admit it Johnny. That fire was unbelievable. You had every right in the world to be afraid."

"No I don't!" Johnny's dark eyes were swimming with fear as they locked onto his wife's face. "I can't be afraid Min! My job is based on me having the guts to go barreling head first into a burning building. I can't let something like fear stop me!"  He sat down on the edge of the bed; he leaned forward covering his face with both of his hands.

Min sat down beside her husband, placing her hand in the center of his back. "Johnny…Honey you're a human being, you're not some guy in a cape. It's only natural for you to be afraid."

"I never have been before." His voice barely audible through the hands covering her face. 

"And I bet you weren't the only one, every fireman out there was probably scared to death."

Min leaned her head against her husband's shoulder. "You're afraid this will affect your ability to fight fires now, right?"

Johnny finally uncovered his face. "A little, yeah."

"Well I don't, even though you were afraid you _still would have gone into that building."_

The fireman nodded, turning his head towards his wife. "Yeah, I would have."

Min gave her husband a smile. "Well there you go, fear or not Johnny you _still_ would have done your job."

Johnny grinned as he shifted on the bed, facing his wife. He grabbed her arms and pulled her into his lap, hugging her to his bare chest.

Min laid her head against his chest, sighing. "You're one of the bravest guys I know Johnny."

"Wilson, Barnett, Carlson and Taylor were brave too. They ran straight into that burning building without a moment's hesitation."

His wife raised her head, staring into his face. "Do you think it was…fast for them?"

Johnny gave his wife a slight nod of his head. "The explosion was unbelievable; it shook the ground under our feet. It sent all of us near the building flying like we were leaves instead of men."

Min squeezed her eyes against the image and hugged her husband tightly. "I hope Mac and his team can find out what caused that fire so no one else has to get handed a folded flag."

Johnny kissed his wife's head, closing her eyes. "Me too, but if anyone can find out what happened, its Mac."

MacGyver was sitting in the kitchen. The dining room table piled high with chemistry books. It was late and he was going over the books carefully, his mind replaying the description Johnny gave of the fire. He was on his fifth book when a pair of gentle hands touched his shoulders, causing him to jump.

Gillian leaned down, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What are you doing?"  
Mac sighed, touching one of his wife's hands. "Just looking at some things."

"Can't it wait until morning?" She leaned down, resting her chin on his left shoulder.

"Not really, we have to go look at the remains of that building in the morning. I want to be prepared." He picked up another book and flipped through it.

Gillian let go of her husband and sat down in the empty chair beside him. She was looking at him, noting the seriousness of his face. "So what's bugging you?"

Mac glimpsed at his wife, shaking his head. "You always _can tell can't you?"_

The young woman shrugged. "My first clue is the fact it's after midnight and you're not in bed with me."

Her husband sighed, wiping his hands down his face. "All right, something _is_ bugging me."

"What?" Gillian leaned back, playing with the ends of her blue pajama tank top.

"Something that Johnny said about the fire. He said that the water seemed to make the fire _worse_, like it was feeding off of the hydrogen and oxygen."

Gillian nodded. "Right, that's what he said." She looked at all of the books scattered all over the table. "So you're trying to find a chemical that does that?"

Mac picked up another book. "There are lots of them like that I was just trying to narrow it down."

"You'll get more clues when we see that building." She got up, standing behind him once again. "Why don't you put your book down and come to bed?" She leaned over and started kissing the side of his neck. "I can take your mind off of the chemical puzzle."

MacGyver reached over his shoulder, touching her head. "Oh I just bet you can."

Gillian smiled as she stood up; she took his hand and tugged it. "Come on."

"You know, you are a terrible distraction?" Mac allowed his wife to pull him to his feet. "If we had met in college or high school I _never would have got any homework done."_

"But you would have gotten something worth more than a few A's."

"A whole lot more fun too."

Gillian caught sight of her husband's bed attire and she started to laugh. "Wearing my present huh?"

Mac smiled. "What can I say? It's true."

The boxer shorts he had on were black, there was a large tiger going across both of his legs. The tiger was in mid stride, there was writing on the thick waistband that read LOVE BEAST.

Gillian nodded as she led her husband down the hall towards their bedroom. "And right now Mr. MacGyver you're going to prove it."

At seven the next morning, MacGyver, Gillian and half a dozen men met up in Long Beach. The warehouse district where the fire had been was located right near the ocean. It was an older section of the city that had once been a shipping harbor for fishing boats and cargo ships. The rotting remains of piers and docks were still sticking up out of the water. 

The team arrived in a convoy of three white vans, the bright blue logo of the Phoenix Foundation plastered on the sides. The sliding doors opened and the team emerged from them; each one dressed in a white radiation suit with helmet for protection. The area they were in had been roped off by the police and the LAFD. A whole city block had been sectioned off so the team could work at their leisure and in privacy.

The warehouse building had been burned down to its foundation, the explosion had scattered a very small amount of debris. There was nothing but thick black dust and a few bricks left on the concrete foundation.

MacGyver touched a button on his belt, turning on the headset pressed to his cheek. He stepped out onto the foundation, crouching down to take a closer look at the slab. 

"Gill?"

His wife stepped out of a white van, adjusting her suit. She breathed in the strong salty air as she looked across the water, watching it rolling in towards the shore. She was trying to calm her nerves as she put her helmet over her head and put the headset microphone to her cheek. "Yeah Mac I'm here." She had a clipboard in her hand. 

"Write this down." Mac moved aside some of the dust with his gloved hands, there were some deep scorch marks in the concrete. They were a strange maroon color. "Scorching evident, odd coloring of burn marks."

Gillian nodded as she wrote it down. "Okay, got it. We're going to take some of the bricks and this dust with us right?"

Mac straightened up. "Yeah, Merced and the others are gathering samples of the debris." He walked around a little, moving some of the bricks aside. There was absolutely nothing left of the building to give a clue as to what had once been stored there. "This is unbelievable, everything just disintegrated." Mac picked up a brick and looked it over; he gave it a slight squeeze and it crumbled in his hands. 

Gillian was looking around, swallowing hard. She could see flashes of the fire and feel the fear in the air. She watched as the four firemen ran into the building. She was breathing hard, the events of that deadly day playing like some horrible movie in her mind. A hand tapped her shoulder and she gasped, nearly falling as she whipped around and saw the inquisitive face of her husband.

"Are you okay?"  Mac could see how pale his wife seemed to get all of a sudden.   
The young woman nodded. "Yeah…"

"Bad vibes?"

"Yeah." Gillian sighed as she looked around, wishing she could take off her helmet. It suddenly felt very stuffy.

Mac touched her arm, turning her to face him. "Tell me what you feel; any tiny clue might be helpful."

The young woman licked her lips. "I have to take off my helmet, get a better feel of the air."

"All right." 

Gillian handed him her clipboard, she grabbed the helmet and lifted it off; sighing when the rush of air cooled her sweaty face. The air was perfumed with the heavy smell of burnt wood and charcoal. She swallowed hard as she walked off of the platform, MacGyver quietly in tow. She turned around and faced the foundation, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. 

A wave of feelings hit her; nearly knocking her down, the only thing that kept her from falling was her wide stance. She gasped as she stared at the foundation, seeing the old warehouse completely consumed.

Mac was watching his wife; her face was stunned and shiny with sweat. He walked up to her, standing directly in front of her, blocking her view of the concrete slab.

"Gill?" He was looking directly into her eyes. "Gill?" He took off his gloves and tucked them into his pocket. Her face was burning hot, as his fingers stroked it. He tapped her cheek gently. "Come on back."

Gillian was covered with sweat, her radiation suit sticking to her. The power and terror of that day had her locked with in. She watched everything as it unfolded, happening the exact same way Johnny had described it. She was fighting to come back, her husband's voice calling out to her in the distance. 

MacGyver was beginning to get scared; he took off his helmet, dropping it on the ground. He put his hands on his wife's shoulders, and shook them. "Gillian! Wake up! Come on, wake up!"

The voice of her husband was getting louder as she stepped inside the building. The fire was everywhere, everything was burning. She looked around; there were blue metal barrels all over the room, all of them covered in fire. The heat was becoming too much, the fire consumed room began to shift. She felt herself start to sink to the ground.

Mac saw his wife's eyes roll back; he grabbed her around the waist just as she began to fall. He crouched down, laying her over his left shoulder. He stood up and carried her over to where the vans were parked. The sliding door was pulled back and the unconscious young woman was carefully laid down inside of it. Mac climbed in beside her, looking down at her. He turned her face towards him. "Gill?"

Gillian slowly opened her eyes, seeing the relief on her husband's face. MacGyver sighed, leaning down to touch her forehead with his. "Are you okay?"

The young woman nodded slowly. "Yeah, but now I know what a toasted marshmallow feels like."

"What did you see?" Mac helped her sit up, keeping a hand across her shoulders. 

Gillian sighed, wiping her face. "Everything, I even went inside the building. There were blue barrels all over the place."

"Where they marked? Was there any kind of label on them?"

"Yeah, they were." Gillian closed her eyes, picturing the wide white labels she had seen on the barrels. "Tet..tetrolo, something."

The blond man's eyes widened, he recognized the name of the chemical. "Are you _sure_ that's what the barrels said?"

Gillian opened her eyes. "I can't be sure Mac, I thought so but it was so smoky and crazy..." She shook her head. "I can't be sure."

Mac touched her face gently. "Don't worry about it, the tests we run will tell us if what you saw was right or not." He sighed, stroking her cheek; he hoped that his wife has been wrong about what she had seen.

The stationhouse was quiet, it had been an uneventful morning and the six members of Station 51 were gathered around the kitchen table. Johnny and Roy were sitting across from Mike and Marco, Chet and Captain Stanley each taking an end of the table.  They were all enjoying their coffee in an awkward silence, not one man there wanting to express any thoughts or feelings. The unexpected and sudden deaths of their four colleagues still weighing heavily on each one of them; the question of which one of them could be next hung in the air like a cloud.

Roy had a sip of his coffee; he set his cup down and cleared his throat. This got the attention of the rest of the firemen.

"I spoke to Marilyn last night."

Chet leaned forward, his elbows against the wooden table. "What did she say?" 

Roy sighed, shaking his head slowly. "She told me that she's pregnant."

A murmur of horror and disbelief echoed through the room. Johnny sat back in his chair, rubbing his hands down his face. "Oh man that's rough."

His partner nodded, a solemn look on his face. "I know."

Marilyn was one of the brand new widows, she and her husband Daniel had only been married for a little over a year. Daniel had just been sharing the news about his impending fatherhood with the rest of his fellow firemen at the LAFD Picnic the weekend before. Now he was gone and his widow and unborn child were going to have to make it on their own.

"So what is she going to do?"

Roy glanced at Chet. "She's going back to Georgia as soon as the insurance money comes through. She has family in Georgia that is going to help her."

Johnny nodded, his thoughts returning to the conversation he had with his wife the night before. He was looking down at the table.  "You know, Min and I had a talk last night."

"About what Johnny?" Chet asked, watching the dark haired fireman.

"Wilson, Taylor, Barnett and Carlson."

"What did you two talk about?"

Johnny lifted his head high. "About how scared I was that day."

No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity, finally Chet sighed heavily. "Yeah so was I."

Now the focus of the room shifted to the dark curly haired fireman. He cleared his throat, hesitating for a moment before going on. "I really was, we've dealt with all kinds of fire but nothing like that."

"Yeah I know, the fire was …it was like it was alive." Marco sputtered the words out like they were just aching to burst out of his throat. The air in the room seemed to get lighter as the truth came out; Johnny had inadvertently opened a flood gate.

Mike nodded. "I know, and did you see what color it was? It was sort of yellow, it smelled weird too."

"I didn't notice that." Johnny was telling the truth, he hadn't noticed that the fire was a strange color and odor to it. It was one of those tiny details that got lost in the sea of fear he had been in that day.

Captain Stanley picked up his coffee mug. "Yeah I heard they called in a special team to look into it. Chief Forrester said that it was the Governor that requested this team to investigate."

Chet creased his brow. "Who Cap? Who did they get?"

"I don't know Chet, Chief Forrester wouldn't tell me."

Johnny turned and looked at Roy; he was so tempted to tell that he knew exactly who the team was. 

Roy saw the conflict in his partner's eyes. "You okay Johnny?"

"Yeah I'm okay."

"You sure? You look like you got something on your mind."

"I do." Johnny turned and faced five pairs of eyes. "I know who the team is."

Chet's eyes widened. "You do? Well who is it?"

"And how is it that you know this when the chief wouldn't even tell me?" Captain Stanley asked, an eyebrow rising slightly in the air.

Johnny cleared his throat, he decided to go ahead and spill his guts. The rest of the station was bound to find out as soon as MacGyver showed up. "The team looking into the fire is from the Phoenix Foundation, MacGyver is leading it."

Hank titled his head back. "Oh so _that's how you know. He told you right?"_

"Right Cap, he did. He's going to come here to talk to us about his findings when he and the team are done."

"Why to us?"

Roy looked across the table at Mike. "We made him a member of this station remember? And the LAFD made him a fireman; technically he's one of us."

Chet sighed. "Oh that's right we did, but I honestly never thought he'd use it."

"Well he is going to use it, especially if another one of these fires breaks out."

Roy turned in his chair. "No offense to Mac Johnny but he's not trained, isn't it dangerous to send an untrained man along with us?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah it is, that's why Chief Forrester and the Mayor are going to give him a crash course in Fire Fighting 101 as soon as his investigation is over."

Chet scoffed. "Johnny that's ridiculous! He can't learn what he needs to be of use to us in a few hours or a few days! It takes months to train a fireman."

"He's not going to be a fully fledged fireman Chet, but he's going to learn enough to lend a hand, and he's going to be the only one that's going to know how to fight these fires."

Captain Stanley folded his hands on the table. He could see that this news was not setting well with his men. "Look guys I know this sounds a little flaky, I know it does but what choice do we have? It's all a matter of choice really. Do you all want to learn a new way to fight a fire with a rookie _or_ do you want to be put in a box like Taylor, Wilson, Carlson and Barnett?"

"As crazy as this does sound Cap, I do know that I want to live. I've got a wife and two kids that want me to see them grow up."

Hank turned to Roy, a small smile coming to his lips. "I've got a wife that wants me to hang around a little longer too Roy."

"I want to see Evan grow up." Johnny whispered as if he wasn't talking to anyone but himself. "That fire scared me bad; we were almost powerless against it. We need help and MacGyver is the one that can give it to us."

The other three men all nodded their heads, despite the uncertainty of this plan they all wanted to live.

The firemen weren't the only ones finally getting some issues off of their chests. The firemen's wives were as well.  It was getting close to the end of August and it was time once again for the Firemen's Wives Club to have their meeting.  This time it was Min's turn to have the meeting at her house; she had spent all morning getting it ready. The coffee table served as the buffet table, there was a wide variety of finger food trays covering it. 

Min sat in the chair beside the far end of the couch, holding Evan in her lap. The baby boy in white was behaving well, sitting quietly on his mother's lap; a stuffed tiger cub in his little hands. Because of recent events, everyone was dressed in black. 

Cassandra Forrester was an older woman with light brown hair that was piled neatly on the top of her head in a bun. She was the wife of the Chief of the LAFD and with this distinction came the privilege of being the president of the FWC. She had a small plate on her lap, filled with a few sandwiches and carrot sticks. She set the plate down on the edge of the table and stood up. 

"Ladies?"

There were only about a half dozen women at the meeting this time, no one was really up to being there. Cassandra could understand why, she didn't want to be there either but there was business that had to be discussed. She could see the lack of interest painted on her fellow wives' faces, she sighed heavily. 

"Ladies I know that none of your hearts is really in this." Cassandra touched a hand to her chest. "Believe me, mine isn't either but the reason we're here today is an important one."

Min and JoAnne were sitting beside one another. She looked up at the President. "It's okay Cass; we all know why we're here." The young woman swallowed hard. "It's about the Bereavement Fund."

The older woman nodded. "That's right Min; we need to discuss who's going to get it since we have four widows instead of just one."

JoAnne sighed, shaking her head. She was treasurer of the FWC. "The fund is designed to lend a hand Cassandra, it's not meant to be fought over." She looked around the room. "I move it be divided equally among the four widows and we add another thousand dollars to it."

Min nodded. "I second the motion Cassandra."

The President nodded. "All in favor?"

There were six hands that slowly rose in the air, Cassandra smiled. "Motion carried, all four of our dear bereaved sisters will get the money."

The older woman sat back down on the couch with a satisfied sigh. She felt better now that the FWC had done something to help the terrible situation. She picked her plate back up and continued eating.

JoAnne was watching her, shaking her head. "How can she possibly _eat_ at a time like this?"

Min looked down at Evan, the baby was fast asleep. She carefully turned him over and lifted him to lay with his head on her shoulder. She rubbed his small back gently.  "I know, of all people she should feel _worse_ than we do. After all, her husband is in charge of all of our husbands. It was probably his order that cost those four men their lives."

The blond woman sighed, setting her half empty plate down on the coffee table. "I know that ever since this happened I've been thinking about what if that had been Roy in that building when it blew?" She crossed her legs, wiping her hand across her eyes. "It just plays over and over again in my mind." JoAnne turned to look at Min. "Has that been happening to you?"

Min nodded gently. "Johnny and I had a long talk the night of the funeral."

"About what?"

Evan stirred and Min shushed him gently, rocking him a little as she lowered her voice. "How he felt, I could tell that the fire had really shaken him up."

JoAnne leaned back against the couch. "Roy and I haven't talked about it. I figured that if he had something on his mind he would tell me about it. He and I have always been very open with each other."

"So have Johnny and I but I had to _pry it out of him, he wouldn't admit it."_

"And he finally did?"

Min nodded, taking a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We both talked about our fears JoAnne and you know something? It helped a lot to get it out in the open. Maybe you should talk to Roy about it. Johnny told me that his reaction to the fire had made him doubt himself as a fireman."

JoAnne's blue eyes widened, her mouth dropped open like a trap door. "Are you saying that my husband could have a confidence problem now?"

Min reached out and gently touched JoAnne's hand. "I'm _saying talk to him, he might not seem bothered by what happened but you never know. We all know how men can hide things."_

The blond woman sighed as she gave Min's hand a squeeze. "I'll do that then, if anything he needs to at least _talk about the fire and the death of his friends."_

Min gave her friend a smile. "Yeah he does and you'll both feel better. It did for me and Johnny and I know it'll help you two as well."

Gillian had taken a nice long hot shower, after spending a good part of the morning out in Long Beach she needed to clean up. She felt as if the black dust had permeated straight through to her bones. MacGyver had dropped her off at home while he and the rest of the team headed for the Phoenix Foundation's huge underground lab. 

It was now getting to be dusk and she was expecting her husband to come home any minute now. She had slipped into a purple sports bra and the matching boxer shorts, her hair French braided down her back. 

The timer on the oven went off and the young woman grabbed a pair of silver oven mitts. She opened the oven and pulled out a pan that contained 4 small broiled steaks topped with mushrooms. 

"Should be done by now." Gillian said to herself as she set the pan on top of the stove and closed the oven. There was a large pot on the far right burner. She lifted the lid, a small cloud of steam rising towards her face as she did so. The pot was filled with homemade mashed potatoes, one of her husband's favorite dishes. 

Gillian heard the sound of the automatic garage door sliding up and a large smile bloomed on her face. 

The side door opened and her husband walked in, a weary look on his face. Mac saw her and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey Baby." Gillian took her oven mitts off and set them down on the counter, she walked up to her husband hugging him around his neck. "How did it go?"

MacGyver sighed, burying his head in his wife's shoulder. After the long day Gillian felt wonderful in his arms, so warm and comforting. "Okay, it was very long and very tiring and I feel like I've got that black dust all over me."

"So did I after Long Beach." She pulled back and touched his face. "Why don't you go take a shower? You'll feel better." She saw he had a silver coffee can in his hands. "What's that?"

"Some of that dust. I thought I'd do a little experimenting on my own."

Gillian took it from him and set it down on the counter. "Later, right now why don't you go clean up and then we can eat."

Mac nodded, a small smile coming to his lips. "Can I have a kiss first?"

His wife smiled, putting hers around his neck. "I'll think about it." She moved her head a little from side to side. "Okay, I've thought about it."

"And the answer is?"

The young woman looked at her husband seriously. "Nope, sorry."

"Okay." MacGyver let go of his wife and started to walk down the hall.

Gillian put her hands on her hips. "Mac!" She walked after him.

A slight smirk appeared on MacGyver's lips as he tossed his black windbreaker on the bed and closed the bathroom door. He closed the door a fraction of a second before his wife could follow him.

"Mac!" She tried the doorknob, only to find that it was locked. "Mac, open the door!" She jiggled the door knob. 

_"No way!__ You said I couldn't kiss you!"_

"And you took me seriously?" Gillian knocked on the door. "Come on! Open up! We've been together forever you should be able to tell by _now when I'm teasing you!"_

The bathroom door opened and Mac stuck his head out. "And so should _you_." He gave her a grin.

Gillian's mouth dropped open. "Oh you are so _dead!" She pushed the door opened and threw her arms around his neck. She started kissing him hard, kicking the door shut behind her._

MacGyver was outside, only light in the big backyard coming from the flood lights on the porch. He had on a bright red flame retardant suit on over his white t-shirt and red shorts. Gillian was standing on the porch; she had been instructed to stay far back. 

Mac had a special glass bottle filled with his own blend of chemicals tucked into his pocket. He had put a metal cookie sheet out on top of the grass. He crouched down and opened the coffee can, pouring some of the black powder onto the flat piece of metal. 

Gillian was watching him; on the ground beside her was a fire extinguisher. "Be careful Mac."

"Oh believe me, I will." He had on flame retardant gloves and a covering for his head that looked like a bandana. Mac turned towards her. "Just keep your distance, okay?"

"I will."

MacGyver took the bottle and stepped back a little as he opened the cap. "If this reacts like I think it will, I'll know what caused those fires."

Gillian swallowed hard. "What is that stuff?"

Mac licked his lips and pressed them together. "Oh, my own recipe… a little of this and that."  He leaned over and poured it into the cookie sheet. 

The liquid and powder swirled together, turning an odd shade of bright white. MacGyver was watching it, his eyes wide. "That's it! That's what it's _supposed_ to do!"

Gillian craned her neck, trying to see the cookie sheet. "What's it doing?"

"It's turning white! Do you know what this means?" The blond man in the red suit was getting excited; he had a wide smile on his face as he moved closer to it.  "Come check it out Gill, its okay!" He waved her over. "Don't worry its safe."

His wife was a little wary as she slowly made her way over to her husband. MacGyver crouched down to pick up the metal sheet. He curled his fingers around it and began to lift it in the air. The jarring of the sheet and the motion of the air caused the mixture to sizzle. Mac creased his brow as he heard it.

"What the…?"

The powder suddenly burst into flame, a streak of fire shooting out hitting MacGyver in the chest. He dropped the flat piece of metal and threw himself to the ground, his hands covering his face. 

_"Mac!"_ Gillian screamed as she ran back over to the porch and grabbed the fire extinguisher. She pulled the pin and squirted the yellow powder on her husband. The fire was engulfing him; the chemical was not putting her husband out.

The young woman was panicking as he watched her fireball of a husband rolling around on the ground. She thought of another extinguisher and dropped the one in her hands; it hit the ground with a thud. She ran through the kitchen straight into the garage and grabbed the one screwed to the wall.

Gillian ran back outside and pulled the pin. She aimed the black horn at her husband and pressed the trigger. A poof of white steam came hissing out. She covered her husband thoroughly with it. In a matter of seconds the fire was out.

Gillian was breathing hard; her heart was thumping madly in her chest as she ran over to the lounging form on the grass.

"Mac?" 

MacGyver had his hands over his face; trying to shield it from the intense heat he could feel engulfing his suit. The heat was suddenly gone and he heard his wife's shaking voice call his name. His whole body was trembling as he slowly lowered his hands.

"Out?" Was the only word that he could get to come out of his tight throat.

Gillian nodded, she was on her knees. She too was a quiver of nerves as she helped him sit up. His face was slightly smudged.

Mac took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked down at the suit. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

A sound that was a mixture of fear, anger and relief squeaked out of Gillian's throat as she grabbed her husband by the front of his suit and pulled him to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck; the seriousness of the situation was not unknown to her. She closed her eyes as a wave of pent up breath came out of her mouth in a series of hitching sobs. She was too upset to even speak.

MacGyver held his wife to him; he took off his gloves and dropped them to the ground. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you." He was rubbing her back, hearing the way she was breathing he knew she was crying. 

Gillian took a deep breath and let it out slowly, she was beginning to calm down. "Are… are you …okay? Did it… burn you?"

"No, I'm okay. That's why I wore this suit." He too took a deep breath; despite the suit the unexpected reaction had frightened him as well.

The shaking couple finally let go of one another. Mac saw the tears on his wife's face and wiped them away. "You know that was fast thinking on your part. This suit might have broken down and I could have ended up a big toasted marshmallow if you hadn't remembered the CO2 extinguisher in the garage."

Gillian sighed as she helped her husband take off his coat. "I didn't even think… I just ran!"

Mac got to his feet; the cookie sheet was beside him, turning upside down on the grass. He picked it up and flipped it over. The metal had deep maroon scorch marks all over it.

"So what does this mean?" Gillian was now standing beside her husband, looking at the odd colored burns.

MacGyver shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure, but what I do know is that the chemical in those barrels was two things mixed together that was triggered by something else." He sighed. "I _think. I may have to do one more test to know for sure. But the real question is what is the other chemical? We know for sure the one is tetrolozine, but the other one is still a mystery. I think it was the other one that caused the black powder to burst into flame _and_ those weird maroon scorch marks."_

Mac looked at his wife, a small smile coming to his lips. "But the good news is that thanks to you we may _now_ know how to put it out."

Gillian swallowed hard. "Another test?"

"Don't worry, this time I won't get _near it and we'll get the other CO2 fire extinguisher out of the garage before we do it."_

Another cookie sheet had been taken out of the kitchen and placed in the grass. Mac poured some more of the black dust into the center of it. He was once again decked out in his red flame retardant suit. He had with him a small squirt bottle filled with water and a few wooden matches in his hands. 

Gillian had two CO2 fire extinguishers, one on either side of her. She was standing about ten feet away; a bright yellow flame retardant coat was around her. 

Mac licked his lips and pressed them together as he dragged his thumbnail across the three matches. The bright spark of flame flaring briefly as the sulfur ignited.  He turned around and looked at his wife.

"Ready?"

Gillian picked up one of the fire extinguishers and held it in her hands. "Ready!"

MacGyver leaned over the cookie sheet and opened his fingers dropping the matches into the powder.  There was a bright flash of fire as the black powder and the flame met each other. 

"Whoa!" Mac turned away from the fire, backing up a few steps as he did so. 

Gillian was also surprised at the sudden burst of flame. "Wow!" She was staring at the bright flames. "Mac…look at the color."

MacGyver took a few more steps away from the burning cookie sheet. "That's weird, the flames are yellow."

"And why does it smell like that?" Gillian was holding her nose; the odor was a sour combination of rotten eggs and sauerkraut.

"I know, stinks doesn't it?" The blond man wrinkled his nose at the rather pungent smell. He suddenly remembered his spray bottle. He took it out of his pocket and turned the nozzle on it to STREAM. "Get ready Gill I'm going to try the water."

"I'm ready Mac, just be careful."

Mac stepped out, leaning on his right foot as he aimed the nozzle and sprayed the water over the fire. The water droplets rained down and me the flames, causing them to flare up. This raised both of MacGyver's eyebrows as he moved a tiny bit closer and sprayed the water again. 

The fire flared up, the neon yellow flames seemed to be almost reaching up towards the spray bottle as if needing to feed off of what was inside of it.

"Oh man, this is amazing."  MacGyver got an idea, he opened the spray bottle. He poured the water over both of his hands. He crouched down and reached into the fire.

Gillian gasped. "Mac what are you doing?" Her dark eyes were wide; her husband had just stuck both of his hands into the fire. 

Her husband only smiled as he pulled his hands out and showed them to her. They were burning; both of his hands were covered with yellow flames. "Check it out!"

The young woman still had the fire extinguisher in her hands as she walked across the yard to stand close to her husband. She was looking at the fire crawling over his hands.  "Why isn't it burning you?"

"The fire is feeding off the hydrogen and oxygen." He held his hands out. "But the water is starting to dry so can you please put my hands out?"

Gillian aimed the horn and pressed the handle, the white cloud covering her husband's hands, smutting out the fire. Mac looked down at his hands; there wasn't a mark on them.

"So what have we learned?" Gillian put out the other fire and set the extinguisher down. "Did this second experiment help at all?"

MacGyver nodded as he rubbed his hands together, his skin was hot from the fire. "Yeah actually we have. The second test showed that the chemicals more than likely spontaneously combusted."

A puzzled look moved across Gillian's face. "Spontaneously combusted? How? From what?"

"I'd say improper storage conditions, heat and humidity. I'll giver Merced a call and see if his experiments reached the same conclusion." Mac sighed. "I'll tell you one thing though, Johnny was right; the chemicals from the fire are why the water didn't do any good. As he said the water only made the fire bigger."

Gillian nodded, taking off her yellow coat. "So why did the building explode?"

"The explosion was from the tetrolozine; it reached a certain temperature and blew up. The fire did it because it was burning hotter from all the water they used." Mac reached down and picked up the extinguisher. 

"So what's the second chemical than mixed in with the tetrolozine?"

The blond man sighed as he took off his coat and the bandana that was around his head. "It's a brand new kid on the chemical block. I've only read about this stuff, I wasn't sure I'd run across any of it, especially here."

Gillian creased her brow. "What's so special about it?"

MacGyver put his arm around her as they walked back towards the house. "It's an alternative to fossil fuel the boys at the Energy Department have been working on. Unfortunately though; as you saw earlier, it's extremely deadly when it gets mixed with something else. Those four firemen never stood a chance. The fire broke out, and it was all over."

The alarm went off at 5 00, Johnny stretched as he rolled over and slapped it off. It was still dark outside and he sighed heavily as he curled up next to his wife. Min was on her side and he draped an arm over her waist.

"Do you have to get up?" Min smiled as she reached over her shoulder, touching her husband's dark head.

"You know I have to; there is going to be sick and injured people that are going to need my help today." Johnny nuzzled her neck, kissing her cheek.

"But I need you too." She lifted his arm and turned over to face him. There was a slight pout to her lips.

"Aww come on now, don't do that." Johnny kissed her lips gently. "Don't make that face! You look like Evan when he wants his tiger cub."

Her pout disappeared, replaced by a small seductive smile. "You know… it's only a little after 5. You don't have to get up and take a shower for a whole hour." 

The fireman nodded. "Right." He raised an eyebrow. "So what should we do for a whole hour?"

Min shrugged as she rolled onto her back, pulling her husband on top of her. "Well we can talk, have breakfast."

"Yeah we _could_ do that."

The young woman smiled as her hands ran up his face and into his dark hair. Her fingers moved through the dark strands slowly and down his bare back. "Or maybe I have another idea."

Johnny gave his wife a crooked grin. "I was hoping you would." 

Min lifted her head, pressing her mouth to her husband's gently. She broke the kiss sighing as she leaned back against her pillow. "What do you think of that idea?"

Her husband thought it over a minute or two. "I like it, it sure beats talking or breakfast." 

"Yes it does."

Johnny kissed his wife again. He kicked the blankets off the bed with his legs and rolled onto his back, taking his wife with him. 

Min sat up, her legs sliding up along his body to straddle her husband's waist. She looked down at him, her dark eyes reflecting love as she touched the ends of her lavender nightgown and pulled it over her head. 

The young woman leaned over and started gently kissing her husband.

Min smiled and sighed heavily, listening to the shower water turn off. She kicked off the sheet and sat up, stretching as she did so.

"What a _wonderful_ way to start off the morning…"She said to herself as she got out of the bed and picked up her nightgown from the floor and slipped it back on. She knocked on the bathroom door. "Johnny? I'm going to make some coffee; you want a cup before you go?"

The door opened and Johnny poked his head out. His face was wet, his dark hair sticking up all over his head.  He leaned forward and kissed her, a strong whiff of soap and shampoo emanating out from the open door. "Yes please, a small cup. I'll get more once I get to the station."

"Okay." Min smiled, giving her husband another kiss as she left the bedroom.

The young woman hummed as she put a couple of scoops of coffee into the coffee maker. She picked up her blue teapot, filling it with water. She set it on the stove and turned on the burner. Min decided to have a nice cup of hot tea. She had just taken a dark blue mug out of the drain board and had gotten her glass jar of tea bags out of the pantry when there was a knock on the front door. 

The young woman gasped; her heart racing as she glanced at her watch. The time was 6 05 and she wondered who in the world would be knocking at such an early hour.  

She walked through the living room, grabbing a red jacket out from the closet and slipping it on as she leaned close to the door. "Who is it?"

_"Min?__ It's me Mac!" _

Min creased her brow; her dark eyes stunned as she unlocked the door and opened it. "Mac its 6 am! Why aren't you home in bed?" 

The answer was obvious; the tall blond man was dressed in a fireman uniform. The light blue shirt and the navy pants were a perfect fit. He had on his badge and his name tag on the right and left side of his chest.  He smiled at her when he saw her look him up and down. "So what do you think? Do I _look_ like your husband?"

Min stepped back, opening the door all the way. "Yes and no."

Mac walked into the house. "Why no?"

"You're lighter skinned and blond." She closed the door behind him. "Care for a cup of tea or coffee?"

"Sure, tea sounds good." He followed the oddly dressed woman through the living room and the French doors to the kitchen. 

Min got out another mug of the drain board and added tea bags to both of them. "So how goes the investigation?"

MacGyver picked up one of the dining room chairs and moved it to the side of the counter. He sat down, folding his hands on top of the counter. "Good, it's pretty much done. Which is another reason why I'm going in which Johnny today, I want to talk to 51 first before the other fire stations show up for the demonstration."

"What demonstration?" Johnny was tucking his blue shirt in, surprised to see his friend. "Good morning MacGyver."

The blond man smiled widely. "Good Morning fellow Fireman!"

The teapot began to whistle and Min quickly turned it off before the loud noise woke the baby. She poured the hot water into the two cups and set the kettle back onto the stove. Min got another mug from the cupboard and poured her husband a cup of coffee from the coffeemaker. "Here you go Honey."

"You're awfully cheerful Mac." Johnny took the coffee from his wife. "Thanks Min."

Min added a spoonful of honey to both mugs and slid one over to her friend. "Your tea."

"Thank you Min." Mac took the spoon she offered him and fished his teabag out. "I'm sorry I just dropped in without a warning."

"Don't worry about it, we were awake." The fireman smiled at his wife, the young woman's face turning a slight shade of pink.

MacGyver raised an eyebrow. "I hope I didn't _interrupt anything." He brought the cup to his lips and had a sip of his tea._

Johnny shook his head. "No, if you had come earlier…"

Min nearly choked on her tea. She coughed hard widening her eyes briefly at her husband. "Johnny!"

The dark haired man grinned, winking at his wife as he sipped his coffee. 

MacGyver laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it Min, we're all old married people here."

"That still doesn't mean my husband can discuss our sex life with you!"

Mac shrugged his shoulders. "Isn't that what friends are for?"

Min shook her head. "Your wife maybe but not _you_."

"Fair enough, if it'll make you feel better my wife and I _also woke up to a little game of horizontal _Twister_ this morning."_

The dark haired woman nodded her head. "You're right, I _do feel better."_

Johnny finished his coffee and set his mug down as he checked his watch. "Well its 6 30 Mac we better go."

"Okay, I'll tell you about the demonstration on the way to the stationhouse."

"Which vehicle do you we take, mine or yours?"

MacGyver smiled. "You haven't ridden in the Corvette yet have you?"

Johnny shook his head a mischievous grin coming to his lips. "Let's take it then."

Min walked the two men to the door; Johnny got out his dark blue jacket from the closet and slipped it on. He gave his wife a hug and a kiss. "Bye Min see you after 6."

"Bye, you two place nice with the other firemen."

Mac nodded his head. "Sure, no problem." He gave the young woman a wink as he and Johnny opened the front door and walked out into the cool morning air.

The Los Angeles Fire Department Headquarters had been well informed by Chief Forrester of the demonstration that was to take place at Station 51. The dispatcher had been told that if any emergency arose to contact all of the station captains there. There was one captain from every fire station in LA standing in the driveway of the red brick firehouse. 

MacGyver was standing in the yard, near the flag pole along with his wife. The red headed woman had on her husband's bright red flame retardant suit. The only other person there that was also decked out in a bright red flame retardant suit was a light brown haired man with blue eyes named Dr. Christopher Merced; he had also been conducting experiments at the Phoenix Foundation Lab. Next to the three people was a card table that contained a small glass box that was wired to a control panel. 

MacGyver smiled at all of the men, the 6 members of station 51 were standing right in the front of the small crowd. "Good Morning Gentlemen, my name is MacGyver. As you may or may not have heard, my team and I are from the Phoenix Foundation. We were sanctioned by the Governor of California and the Mayor of Los Angeles to investigate the three fires that have been in this area. I'd like to introduce my two assistants that will be helping me this morning with our demonstrations." He turned and looked at Gillian. "The woman in red is Gillian MacGyver and the man to her left is Dr. Christopher Merced."

Gillian looked at all the men and raised her hand. "Good Morning."

Mac cleared his throat. "Now, Dr. Merced and I have done some extensive investigations of all three sites and we have made some amazing discoveries. First off, the question as to whether or not all three of these fires are linked, the answer is yes. They all have one thing in common, a very deadly unstable chemical known as tetrolopetroate." 

There was a murmur through the small crowd, Johnny and Roy themselves glanced at each other questioningly. No one had heard of the chemical before.

MacGyver saw a wave of puzzlement wash over the crowd. "Now I _know_ you all haven't heard of this before. It's fairly new; it's a combination of two chemicals, tetrolozine and petroate. It was this chemical that not only caused the fire but what killed your fellow firefighters."

Captain Stanley raised his hand. "How? How could this chemical do that?"

"An excellent question Captain and for the answer I will ask my assistant Dr. Merced for our first demonstration." 

Mac stepped aside and Dr. Merced stepped forward. He had a silver briefcase at his feet. He crouched down and opened it, taking out what looked like a mini chemical barrel. "Gentlemen, this small barrel is filled with tetrolopetroate." He walked over to the glass box. "This box is a representation of the warehouses that were involved in the fires. The temperature and humidity inside his box is identical to the conditions of the day of the first fire in Santa Rose." Christopher opened the box and stuck the small barrel inside. He closed the small door and flipped a few switches on the control panel, locking the door. "Within a few minutes Gentlemen you will see something that will amaze you."

Everyone watched the small clear box; there were beads of condensation rolling down the sides. After what seemed like forever the barrel inside the box seemed to bubble. There was a loud pop as the lid to the mini barrel popped off the top as though it were a bottle of champagne. The little glass box suddenly burst into flame.

MacGyver reappeared; he had the green garden hose in his hand. "Another thing that will amaze you Gentlemen, observe."

Gillian turned on the faucet; a stream of water came out of the end of the hose and hit the fire engulfed box. The flames only grew bigger. The men gathered on the concrete driveway gasped when they saw this.

"Cut the water Gill!"

The hose was turned off and Mac dropped it. "You see, the chemical in that barrel spontaneously combusted due to improper storage conditions. Those warehouses should have been air conditioned and environmentally controlled." There was a yellow flame retardant jacket and a bandana hanging from the flag pole. He slipped it on and put the bandana over his head. "Those of you at the Long Beach fire probably noticed that the fire got bigger and bigger the more water you all put on it." 

Mac took a small spray bottle out of his pocket and wet down his hands. "This is a most unusual way for a fire to behave as you already know." He walked over to the fire and stuck his hands in it, both of them coming out covered with fire. "These chemicals _feed on the hydrogen and oxygen in the water. The more you give it, the more it'll need and the bigger and hotter the fire will burn. When the tetrolozine reaches a certain temperature, it __will explode."  He waved his hands around; making sure everyone could see them. _

"This fire will _not,_ I repeat not be put out in a conventional manner. There's only one way to put it out." MacGyver turned around and looked at his wife. "Gill, then CO2 please."

Gillian had a CO2 fire extinguisher beside her; she pulled the plug on it and sprayed not only her husband's hands down but the glass box. 

Mac took off his yellow jacket and bandana and handed them to his wife. "That's the good news Gentlemen, the _bad news is that this chemical was made by the Energy Department as a fuel alternative. They were four major shipments sent to California." He sighed as he looked around. "Can you all guess where?"_

Johnny raised his hand. "Santa Rosa, Santa Monica and Long Beach."

"Give that man a cigar!" Mac smiled but it didn't last. "That is absolutely correct however there was one more shipment, a huge shipment." He licked his lips and pressed them together. "Guys... over a thousand barrels were sent here to LA."

MacGyver swallowed hard. "As soon as the weather heats up again, there's going to be a _huge_ fire."

Johnny sighed as he crossed his arms, his head lowering for a minute. "When Mac?"

The blond man looked at all of the firemen present seriously. "According to our weather satellite some time within the next 5 days, that's when the temperature and the humidity will be the same as it was for the other three fires."

Gillian had been invited to stay for breakfast; she was sitting at the kitchen table of the stationhouse between her husband and Johnny. It was barely half past 7 and the men were getting ready to eat. It was Roy's turn and the fireman had decided to cook eggs, sausage patties and toast for everyone. He was standing at the stove, spatula in hand stirring around his eggs.  Marco and Mike were getting out the plates, silverware and glasses while Chet was getting the bottle of orange juice and the half gallon of milk out of the fridge. He set them down in the center of the table. 

"MacGyver, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Chet, go ahead."

The dark curly haired fireman leaned over the table. "I don't mean to sound skeptical Mac but how is it that you were able to find out about the shipments of this chemical to California?"

MacGyver had a sip of his hot chocolate and set his cup down. "It wasn't too hard, once the tests proved what kind of chemical we were dealing with, it was only a matter of tracking down where it came from and where it was going."

Gillian nodded. "We used the Phoenix Foundation computer to link up to the Energy Department." She smiled at the fireman. "We were only there looking for information on the tetrolopetroate only to discover that it was actually _created_ by the Energy Department itself."

Roy turned around to face the young woman. "If they created it as new fuel then why doesn't the public know about this?"

Mac took this question. "Because it's still got a few bugs in it, obviously. If it came out _now_ in light of these fires it would be a huge embarrassment."

The only woman in the room cleared her throat. "Umm…excuse me; I really _hate_ to bring this up but." She turned to look at her husband. "Mac you're not a fireman, you don't have one tiny little hint of training. How are you going to lend a hand once this massive fire finally breaks out?"

The blond man could see the worry in his wife's eyes. He reached out and gently touched her hand. "Don't worry; I'm going to be taking a crash course in fire fighting at the Fire Academy tomorrow morning."

Gillian sighed loudly. "Oh good, that's a relief."

"I'm afraid it isn't." Captain Stanley came in from the garage, a serious look on his face. He was staring directly at MacGyver and Gillian.

Johnny turned around sideways to face his Captain. "What do you mean Cap?"

Hank sighed, shaking his head. "I'm afraid your quick trip through the academy has been cancelled Mac." He looked around at all of his men. "In light of the Phoenix Foundation's findings and MacGyver's demonstrations, Chief Forrester had decided to institute Crisis Procedures."

The 5 other men in the room all groaned, shaking their heads. Johnny sighed, leaning back in his chair. 

Mac and Gillian looked at each other, the red haired woman shrugging her shoulders. Her husband licked his lips and pressed them together. "So this means _what_ exactly?"

Hank walked around the table and pulled out a chair. "It means that no fireman is going to be allowed to go home. Since we don't know exactly when this fire is going to take place, no one is going home." He looked at the blond man sitting across from the table from him. "That includes you MacGyver."

Gillian swallowed hard. "But he doesn't know how to fight a fire! What's going to happen when that fire _does_ break out? Are you going to let an untrained man deal with it?"

The captain shook his head. "No, starting first thing tomorrow morning we are going to show your husband how to handle himself. We have seasoned firemen here that can show him the ropes of basic firefighting better than the instructors at the academy can."

Johnny nodded. "Right Gill, we'll make sure he knows exactly what to do when the time comes." He reached out and put his arm around her shoulder. "So don't worry, okay?"

Gillian sighed, turning to look at the dark haired fireman. "Promise?"

"Sure, I promise." Johnny raised his head and looked over Gillian's shoulder at her husband behind her. "Course, you can find tall blond white boys like him on every street corner in California."

"Hey!" MacGyver tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. "You better watch it Gage, we're going to be roommates for the next 4 or 5 days."

The young woman started to laugh, shaking her head. "No that's okay Johnny, he may be a tall blond white boy but I'm _terribly fond of him."_

"Yeah I know." Johnny leaned in close to her. "Mind if I ask why?"

"Oh you're a dead man Gage!" Mac looked around for the nearest weapon he could find. The only thing on the table other than the breakfast fixings was the newspaper. He grabbed it, folded it up and whapped Johnny on the head with it. It was a loud thump that got the other firemen's attention.

Chet laughed loudly as he set the 8 glasses down on the table. "I see that old Gage charm strikes again! Welcome to 51 MacGyver."

Gillian covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. "Does that answer your question Johnny?"

The firemen made a face, rubbing his head. "Yeah I think I got it."

Gillian had left, giving her husband and deep kiss and a hug. She held him for a long time part of her incredibly frightened. MacGyver had given his wife his reassurances that everything was going to be all right but it did little good. Finally it was Johnny that suggested that the young woman stay with Min and Evan since he too was stuck at the stationhouse. This made Gillian feel better but not much, deep inside her she was scared. 

MacGyver had come prepared for such a turn of events. He had packed a small bag with him and had left it in the back of his Corvette. He was given a locker and a bed in the bunkhouse right across from Johnny and Roy.  

The newest member of Station 51 had spent most of the day out of the stationhouse. He had gone on all of the calls, a few of which were fires. It was everyone's assumption that the rookie was going to have to be taught how to do everything. Everyone thought that MacGyver knew nothing of the engine itself or how to hook up the hoses. This however was not the case, MacGyver's knowledge of the fire engine and firefighting itself was a surprise. He was able to attach the hose to the engine and to a hydrant just like any other firemen there; as if he had been doing it for years. 

The blond man sighed as he sat down on his twin bed, leaning forward to run his hands over his face. His mind was racing, the owner of the warehouse that contained the thousand barrels of tetrolopetroate had been notified about the storage conditions but it did little good. He had not only refused but pointed out that there was no way the air conditioning units would be there before the 5 day deadline was up.  The one consolation to this terrible situation was that the LAPD had been loaned a dozen tanker trucks by the city that were going to be filled with carbon dioxide in preparation for the big fire. 

"Hey…"

Mac started; his concentration shattering. He turned partially around to see Johnny leaning on the brick wall beside his bed.

"Hey Johnny what's up?"

The dark haired fireman sighed. "You're the rookie in town Mac so you know what that means."

MacGyver shrugged his shoulders. "No, what?"

"It means you get the delight of cooking dinner."

"Oh! Is that all?" He got up from the bed and followed Johnny into the kitchen. "I thought maybe my boxers were going to get strung up the flagpole or something like that."

"Any suggestions?" MacGyver opened the fridge looking at all the varieties of food stacked in it.

Johnny pulled out a chair and sat down. "Something hot, fast and good."

"That narrows it down, thanks." Mac rummaged around some more, finding a large pack of boneless chicken. "Hey! This will work!" He closed the fridge and set the pack down on the counter. He turned on the water and began washing his hands. "So where is everyone else?"

"Well I'm right here." Roy came into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair and sat down next to his partner.

MacGyver turned partially around. "Hey Roy, where's the rest of the guys?"

"Washing down the engine in the driveway." Roy stood back up and got a couple of cups out of the drain hard. He poured some coffee into them and handed one to his partner. "So what's on the menu for tonight Rook?"

"Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry." 

The faucets were turned off and Mac tore off a paper towel and dried his hands. He was leaning against the stove looking at the long face of Johnny Gage. "You know you're going to trip on your lower lip when you stand up Johnny."

Johnny had his elbow propped up on the table, his head leaning against his hand; he didn't react to the comment. Mac looked over his shoulder at his partner. 

"What's wrong with him?"

Roy sighed as he sipped his coffee. "I'm afraid my partner here is suffering from a case of Practical Joke-is Victim-us."

MacGyver titled his head back. "Ah, I see. So what happened?"

Johnny was still frowning as his dark eyes lifted to gaze at his inquisitive friend. "Someone got a hold of a syringe and injected cod liver oil into my toothpaste."

Mac wrinkled his nose. "Oh man… That's disgusting!"

"Tell me about it! I wanted around the whole day smelling like I'd eaten tuna for breakfast and lunch! I had to brush my teeth about a dozen times before the smell went away. Min wouldn't even let me _kiss her until the smell was gone."_

"Well whoever did that gets points for originality." Mac wadded up the paper towel and turned back around. He opened the cabinet under the sink and tossed the paper towel in the small trash can.

"Oh we _know_ who did it." Johnny was no longer passive, his jaw clenched as his dark eyes flashed with annoyance and humiliation.

Roy nodded. "That's right; we _all_ know who the king of pranks is."

"So who is it?" 

The chef for the evening was getting the cutting board from the top of the fridge and a sharp knife out of the silverware drawer. He got a skillet out from the oven and set it on top of one of the burners.  He opened the chicken, rinsed it and was cutting it up into pieces.

"Chet is the practical joker."

MacGyver set his knife down and turned around. "Really?"

Johnny wiped his hands down his face. "Yeah really."

Mac faced the counter one again; he cut the chicken up and put it in the skillet. The fire was turned on low and the chicken pieces began to lightly cook. He went to the fridge and opened the vegetable crisper, getting out an onion, a tomato and a couple of green bell peppers. Each vegetable was washed and carefully cut into small pieces and added to the chicken along with a dash of pepper, salt and garlic for flavor. The burner was turned down even lower as Mac put the glass lid over the skillet. He rinsed his hands, shaking the excess water from them as he turned around. "Okay! Now that dinner is taken care of, let's talk about Chet."

The dark haired fireman scoffed, shaking his head. "What about him Mac?"

MacGyver shrugged. "Well I thought that _maybe you'd like to get even."_

Both Johnny and Roy glanced at each other. "Even?  How? With what?"

"Follow me Gentlemen."

The two firemen followed the rookie back into the bunkhouse. Mac crouched down in front of his bed and reached under the ends of the tan blanket. He pulled out what looked like a large white first-ad kit. "Boys… this is my home away from home." He sat down on the bed and held the metal box on his lap. 

Roy sat on his right, Johnny on his left; both men staring intently at the box. "So what is that?"

The blond man smiled widely as he opened the box, the lid opening like the cover on a book. There were small glass vials filled with different colored liquids all lined up neatly inside the box.

Johnny creased his brow. "You brought chemicals with you?"

"Sure, why not? You never know when one might come in handy." MacGyver looked over the vials carefully. "Oh let's see here…" He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "We need this one, and this one and… this one!" Three vials were taken from the box.

Roy looked at Johnny who only shrugged. "What are they for MacGyver?"

"Revenge of course." Mac saw the question marks floating over the heads of his two friends. "All right I'll explain." He showed the glass vials to his friends. "If you want to get even with a certain fireman all you have to do is put mix these three together and put them in his food or drink."

Johnny suddenly smiled widely. "And what will it do?"

The rookie cleared his throat. "It will make those parts of the body parts made of keratin and enamel glow in the dark."

Both of Roy's eyebrows went up in the air. "His nails and his teeth?"

Johnny pressed his lips together, he started to snicker. "Glow in the dark?"

Mac nodded his head slowly, a wicked grin coming to his lips. "Like luminous paint, but only for 24 hours."

The dark haired fireman began to laugh, he was _finally going to get even and he couldn't wait for the night to come._

_"Gage!"_

The dark bunkhouse was silent until the unmistakable voice of Chet Kelly rang out. Johnny was lying on his back, is left arm draped over his eyes. He was smiling in the dark.

MacGyver was too, he lifted his left hand looking at his watch. "Yup…right on time." He whispered to himself.

"Gage! What did you _do?" _

There was a hint of panic in that voice and it caused the other firemen to groan. 

Johnny finally sat up. "What's wrong with you Chet? Can't you keep it down we're trying to sleep here!" There was a soft glow emanating from the other side of the room.

"Oh for Pete's _sake_ Kelly, what's wrong?" Captain Stanley finally acknowledged his fireman's complaints in the dark. He opened his eyes and widened them instantly when he saw the soft yellow glow coming from the bed directly across from him. "Holy Cow Chet! You're glowing!"

"I know Cap that's why I was yelling at Gage!"

As MacGyver had predicted, the fingernails, toenails and teeth of the dark curly haired fireman were softly glowing. Captain Stanley got out of his bunk, flipping on the overhead lights. 

"Here let me see."

Hank looked at the fireman's nails and asked him to open his mouth. "I don't see anything."

Johnny, Roy, MacGyver, Marco and Mike all gathered around the stricken fireman. Johnny had his arms crossed over his white t-shirt trying to make his face passive.

"So what's the problem Chester?"

Chet swallowed hard.  "You did this to me!"

The captain flipped the lights off bathing the bunkhouse in darkness once again. The upset fireman was still glowing like a motel sign. The practical joke victim looked down at his hands. "What did you do to me Gage, I want to know!"

The lights were turned back on, the glowing disappearing with the light. Captain Stanley stood among his men, shrugging his shoulders. "Beats me how you ended up like that."

Mac had his hands on his hips; he was dressed as the other firemen were, in a white shirt. The only difference between him and the others was his blue boxers and a pair of bright white socks. He cleared his throat. "Yeah that's quite a unique problem Chet."

Kelly narrowed his eyes. "No _kidding MacGyver! The question is; how do I get rid of it?"_

Johnny cleared his throat, trying not to snicker. "What makes you think it was me?"

"Who_ else_ would it be! You're just getting even with me for the toothpaste!"

"Aha! So you _are_ the one playing jokes on me!"

Roy shook his head. "Looks like the tables have finally turned on you Chet."

That was the last draw, Johnny burst into helpless laughter, and with it came the snickering confession of both Roy and Mac.  The rest of 51 joined in, including the captain who acknowledged the brilliant joke with a smile that quickly faded. 

Hank crossed his arms over his chest. "Seems you weren't alone in this Gage, would you two care to explain your part in all of this?"

Roy held his hands up. "It wasn't me Cap, I _swear_."

Johnny finally stopped laughing, wiping his eyes. "All right, it was me that did it."

Mac cleared his throat. "Well, the chemicals came from me Johnny."

Chet shook his head, he was clearly angry. "You went too _far this time Gage."_

"Me? _You're_ the one that has been tormenting me for years now! And I _finally got my revenge on you!"_

Captain Stanley sighed, rubbing his hands down his face. "Well it ends here, right now for both of you. No more pranks or practical jokes, _period_." He looked back and forth at both men. "Understood?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah Cap, I understand."

Chet agreed. "No more jokes or pranks."

"Good now shake hands."

The two men shook hands, Johnny still grinning as he did so. He had finally gotten even and he felt thoroughly justified. 

The captain sighed. "Great now _maybe we can get some sleep."_

Everyone turned, heading back to their beds.

"Hey Gage, wait a minute."

Johnny turned back around. "Yeah?"

"How do I get rid of this stuff?"

The dark haired fireman turned to his accomplice. "You break it to him Mac, I'm going to bed."

MacGyver cleared his throat; the glow in the dark fireman was staring at him, waiting for an answer. "Uhh Chet…you _can't get rid of it, it has to pass through your system."_

The practical joke victim groaned. "Oh _great so I'll be glowing like this for the rest of the night?"_

"Yeah, I'm afraid so."

Hank turned off the light before climbing back into his bed. "Well put a pillow or something over your head Kelly, your glowing is going to keep everyone awake."

Chet sighed, shaking his head as he scooted back in his bed and laid back down. He took his pillow out and slapped it over his head.

MacGyver smiled. "Good night Chet." He turned around and went back to his bunk.

Gillian was tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable. Her efforts were in vain, without her husband there was no getting comfortable and the chances of going to sleep were slim. The young woman was in one of the guest bedrooms of the Gage house, between the nursery and the master bedroom. The large room was decorated in a nice calming shade of light grey. She finally had enough; she got up, reaching for her white robe at the end of the bed. She slipped it on and tied it around her waist. 

Min was lying on her side, staring at the empty side of her bed. She heard a faint knock and the sound of her bedroom door quietly opening.

"Min? Are you asleep?"

The dark haired woman turned over. "No Gill, come on in."

Gillian came into the room, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I can't sleep, not without Mac."

Min scooted over, making room for the young woman to join her. She patted the bed beside her. "Me either, I miss my husband too."

The room was slightly dim, the bright silver light from the moon coming in through the blinds. Even in the low amount of light the two women could see one another's sad face. Gillian climbed up on the big bed, leaning against the headboard. She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm scared Min, this fire business has me petrified."

Min nodded, her hand reaching down to touch her friend's. "I know, but considering what Mac does for a living _normally I'm kind of surprised."_

"Yeah that's true his assignments _can be dangerous but not like this! Getting shot or caught is one thing; a toasted marshmallow is something else."_

"It's all part of being a fireman's wife Gill, you have to learn early on that if you don't trust in your husband's skill and ability to effectively do his job and come home alive; you're going to go insane."

Gillian shook her head, wiping her hand down her face. "Min, I'm _not_ a fireman's wife. This gig with the LAFD is only temporary because of political persuasion and an unstable chemical." She sighed heavily. "Mac is _not_ a fireman, and he could get hurt bad."

Min turned and looked at her friend; she knew exactly how the young woman felt. "I know Gill, believe me I do. Johnny's been doing this a long time but that really isn't too much of a comfort. Sometimes I still get scared." She leaned against her friend. "It takes a special kind of woman to be married to a man with a dangerous job, believe it or not compared to what Mac does. I think Johnny's job is a piece of cake."

"So I guess we're both special huh?" Gillian gave Min's hand a squeeze. "I know this might sound weird Min, but can I stay with you tonight? I just don't feel safe right now."

"Neither do I, I was just about to ask you if you would stay."

The two women started to laugh; they both felt a little better about the current situation. Their hearts were aching for their men as they settled down for the night and tried to go to sleep.

The next two days passed without slowly, the men of station 51 did their jobs waiting for the big fire to strike. The temperature was actually lower then the Phoenix Foundation weather satellite had predicted. MacGyver kept tabs on the weather through Pete; it was beginning to look as though his prediction about the five days was going to be wrong. 

The seven men were sitting around the kitchen table the afternoon of the third day. The center of the table was a sea of chocolate kisses. They were in the depths of an intense poker game.

Johnny was studying his cards, his eyes shifting from right to left as he scanned his fellow firemen's face for any hint of the cards they each held. "I'll see your five kisses and raise you five."

Chet scoffed, shaking his head as he added his ten candies to the growing pile in the center of the table. "You're a lousy poker player Gage, you always have been."

Roy couldn't help but chuckle as he added his candies as well. "He's got a point Johnny; you _do_ tend to lose a lot. If we played for real money you'd be broke a lot."

Marco shook his head. "I'm out."

Mike laid his cards face down on the table. "I fold; don't have the cards or the chocolate."

"Yeah me either." Hank laid it cards down and got up for a cup of coffee. 

Now it was MacGyver's turn, he was right across the table from the dark haired firemen. "I think you're bluffing Johnny."  Mac slid his ten kisses into the pile. "I call, let's see your cards."

Johnny smiled widely as he dropped his cards on the table. "Four of a kind! All kings!"

Roy sighed. "That beats me; all I got is two pair." He put his cards down.

Chet groaned, slapping his cards down. "Yeah me too."

MacGyver smiled as he narrowed his eyes at the fireman. "You're good, that beats me too." He laid his cards down, he had three queens. "Looks like you get it all."

Johnny laughed as he began pulling the large pile of foil wrapped chocolates over to his side of the table. "Lousy poker player huh Chet?" He got all the candies over to his side and picked one up. "I wouldn't have all your chocolate if I was lousy."

Chet crossed his arms over his chest. "You just got _lucky that's all."_

MacGyver stood up and began to pick up everyone's cards; it was his turn to shuffle. "Sometimes all you need is a little luck Chet."

The alarm suddenly went off, all of the men scrambling from the table as the voice began to speak.

_"Stations 2, 16, 33, 51…warehouse fire, __4500 Industrial Way__… __4-5-0-0 Industrial Way__... cross street __Hialeah__…Carbon Dioxide tankers have been notified…"_

MacGyver swallowed hard, his heart racing in his chest as he_ put on his turnout coat and helmet. He climbed onto the fire truck._

Captain Stanley wrote down the address and picked up the mike. "Station 51, KMG 365."

The white doors opened and both the engine and the squad truck shot through the open doors, their sirens wailing.

Min was in the kitchen, she was just getting everything out of the refrigerator to make sandwiches. The young woman was in her husband's navy blue LAFD t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. Gillian came racing into the kitchen, breathing hard. She was in a white flowered tank top and blue shorts. Her dark eyes were wide.

"Min!"

The dark haired woman saw her face. Her friend looked absolutely terrified. "What is it Gill?"

Gillian put her hand to her chest, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down. "A special news report just came on. A warehouse down in the industrial area is on fire."

Min closed her eyes briefly. "Oh God." She covered her eyes with her hand, exhaling slowly. 

Gillian swallowed hard; her heart sinking down into the pit of her stomach as she thought of MacGyver, Johnny and the rest of Station 51.

The bright red engine and the squad truck of Station 51 stopped a few hundred feet away from the burning warehouse. The whole facility was enormous, covering several acres. It was a group of metal buildings scattered around a central brick structure where all the chemicals were kept.

MacGyver licked his lips and pressed them together as he jumped down from the engine. He was staring at the burning building; it was made up of deep red bricks. Its architectural design and condition told him that it was pretty old. The cement between them was faded to a light grey color, it was chipping. The bricks all around it were cracked and a few of them appeared to be on the brink of falling out. The building was one microscopic step above being condemned.

"Oh terrific, this place is barely holding up!" He shook his head. "The _perfect_ place to hold a deadly, unstable chemical."

MacGyver touched his chest and made sure his turnout coat was buttoned all the way up. Despite the thickness of the coat, Mac could still feel the heat coming through it.

Captain Stanley stood beside him, his walkie talkie in his hands. "The other stations are on their way and so are the CO2 tankers, they should be here soon."

MacGyver shielded his eyes as he looked at the fire, the flames were bright yellow and the overpowering stench of the chemical was heavy in the air, reminding him of rotten eggs mixed in with sauerkraut. The fire wasn't bad just yet, only covering about half of the building. The top floor was where the fire was concentrated at the moment.

"We need to get in there Cap!"

The rest of the station gathered around the captain and MacGyver. 

Chet took a pair of gloves out of his pocket and put them on. "Cap what do we do? You _know_ we can't hose this building down!"

Hank nodded his head. "No we can't! The tankers are on their way! As soon as they get here we're going to start pumping the CO2 into it!"

Mac shook his head. "We can't wait that long Cap! What if this thing blows before that? There's enough tetrolopetroate in there to level a good portion of this city!"

"So what do we do?"

"There's bound to be some CO2 extinguishers in a place like this! I say three of us go in there and get a jump start on putting out that fire!"

Captain Stanley nodded. "All right!" He looked at Johnny and Roy. "You two go in with MacGyver and start putting this fire out!"

Roy looked at his captain, nodding. "We'll do it Cap!"

Johnny took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Yeah we'll take care of it!"

Hank nodded. "All right, go on!"

MacGyver reached into his pocket and took out a pair of dark beige gloves. "We can't use our respirators; the oxygen in them might make the fire worse! Or turn us into three human torches!" He slipped the gloves over his hands, pulling on them a little. "All right, let's do it!"

The three men adjusted their black helmets down over their faces as they ran into the brick building.

There were two doorways to get into the place, one on the far left and the other on the far right. A blast of heat hit the three men as they stepped through the left side doorway. The inside of the building was even worse than the outside as far as neglect and deterioration. The barrels were dangerously stacked high upon one another. They were sitting on a bare wooden floor; many of the slates were cracking and split. The fire was on the far side of the room.

MacGyver stepped carefully onto the floor. "Oh man! This is definitely the _wrong_ kind of place to hold chemicals!"

Johnny shook his head. "Or anything else!"

Roy titled the brim of his helmet up. "Are you sure we should be in here?"

They walked a little further into the room looking around for fire extinguishers that were required by law to be there. The three men made it all the way to the middle of the room.

"I don't see any extinguishers!"

Johnny wiped his face; he was sweating from the heat. "Neither do I! I thought places like these are supposed to be inspected?"

"They _are_." Roy checked every wooden support beam that were scattered every few feet throughout the room.

MacGyver sighed loudly, shaking his head. "I don't see one fire extinguisher!" 

Johnny nodded. "Neither do I, we better get out of here."

His partner agreed. "Yeah good idea, we'll just _have to wait for the tankers."_

The three men started walking back towards the doorway. A loud groaning and creaking noise rang out; three sets of eyes looked up and widened in surprise as the roof came crashing down. MacGyver, Roy and Johnny barely had time to dive out of the way of the falling roof. They got up and dusted themselves off as they scrambled to the other side of the room.

The fire was growing worse; the flames had spread to the other buildings around the brick one. Now most of the lot was on fire. The engines all got the hoses out and began to fight the smaller fires that were beginning to catch on. The men kept the water as far away from the brick building as they could. There was still no sign of the tanker trucks. The brick building that contained the three firemen was now almost completely engulfed in bright yellow flames. 

Johnny looked around at his other cohorts as the three men huddled behind some barrels in the far corner of the burning warehouse. The fire was crawling across the floor slowly, making its way towards the crouching men. They were running out of space, the flames were all around them. The heat was intense and the room was beginning to grow hazy.

The dark haired paramedic sighed as he stared at the blond haired man that was close to him.

"Mac… do you know what today is?"

MacGyver tilted the brim of his helmet up and wiped his sooty face. "No Johnny, what is it?"

The dark haired man swallowed hard. "Today is my 30th birthday." His dark eyes were serious. "And I want to live long enough to celebrate it." 

Johnny's eyes were reflecting the seriousness of the situation; the doorways had been blocked off by burning barrels and the part of the roof that had collapsed over the other doorway. It looked as though the three firemen were trapped.

MacGyver licked his lips and pressed them together, he was well aware how incredibly perilous their situation really was. "So do I Johnny, believe me, I'm not ready to die."

Roy was between the two men. "These barrels are filled with that chemical; it's only a matter of time before the heat from this fire ignites them. If we don't find a way out, we're three mice sitting on a stick of lit dynamite."

The smoke was starting to get thicker, causing the three men to cough. They laid down on the floor trying to stay below it. 

Mac took his helmet off and set it aside. "We'll suffocate before that happens Roy."

The roof was creaking above them again and Johnny looked up at it, he saw the way it was sagging. "Or the roof will fall all the way down and crush us."

Gillian was sitting on the couch beside Min, chewing her fingernails. The two women were glued to the television, watching the live coverage of the fire in the warehouse district of Los Angeles. 

"Man that looks bad." The red haired woman said as she touched her hand to her chest. Her jade necklace was there and she rubbed the green stone between her nervous fingers.

"Yeah I know." Min had her son on her lap and she held the little boy in a light grey bodysuit tightly to her.

_"A report has just come in from Station 51, according to Captain Hank Stanley; three of its firemen are apparently trapped in the building. It is not known at this time which firemen it is or whether or not the men can be rescued."_

Min was looking at the men she could see. She recognized Chet Kelly, Marco and Mike Stoker. Her heart stopped dead in her chest when she didn't see her husband, Roy or Mac among the faces.

"Oh my God…"

Gillian swallowed hard, her stomach was starting to twinge and she patted it gently. She knew why her stomach was suddenly acting up and it made her heart ache. "Mac, Johnny and Roy are the three firemen, aren't they?"

The dark haired woman nodded. "I think so, I see everyone else but them."

Johnny, MacGyver and Roy were lying on their stomach's their heads raised. They were watching the roof directly about their heads began to dip lower and lower. 

"That's going to go at any second!" Roy shouted to his two partners as he looked around at the walls. "And it's not alone!"

MacGyver swallowed hard as he watched as the brick walls began to lean inwards. "Oh my God! This whole place is going to cave in on us!"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah I see that! What do we do?"

"We can't stay in here! If they start pumping in the CO2, all of the oxygen is going to get sucked out of this room, we'll suffocate."

Roy looked at both MacGyver and Johnny. "So if we stay in here we'll either be crushed or asphyxiated."

Mac licked his lips and pressed them together. "Yeah that's about the size of it. Either way we're in trouble."

Johnny shook his head. "There _has to be a way out!"_

Roy tilted the brim of his helmet up. "If there is, I sure don't see one."

The roof above began to groan louder. MacGyver looked up at it. "Well we can't go up…" He rolled over onto his back. "There's no windows in this place." He tried to roll back over but found that he couldn't. "Uhh guys… I'm stuck."

Johnny crawled around his friend and turned him a little on his side. "Your turnout coat is stuck on something." He pulled the coat loose. "There."

Mac was back on his stomach. "Thanks Johnny."

Something clicked in MacGyver's mind and his dark eyes widened. "That's it!"

Johnny turned and looked at him. "What's it?"

The blond man grabbed his friend by his arm. "Johnny, you are a genius!"

There was a lot of commotion and scrambling about, the firemen were all shouting and moving back and forth from the metal building to metal building as they battled the smaller fires with their pressurized water. The wind began to kick up, the spray drifting close to the brick warehouse. The simple hydrogen and oxygen combination was intensifying the fire; feeding it exactly what it needed to grow. Within a matter of a few minutes, the water was making the fire burn hotter.

Chet and Mike were on one of the hoses, they were spraying down the twisted metal remains of one of the smaller storage sheds. The building looked like an aluminum can that had been squeezed between a pair of hands. The heat of the fire had not only melted it but had caused it to stretch out and become misshapen. The water hitting the hot metal was sizzling, a burst of steam rising into the air. 

Chet sighed as he pulled the lever back on the hose, shutting off the thick stream of pressurized water. He let go of the hose, dropping it to the ground.

"You okay Chet?" Mike was standing behind his friend; he put a gloved hand on his back.

"Yeah Mike." Chet loosened the strap around his chin, pulling his helmet off. "It's just so hot." He took of his glove and wiped his hand down his face.

"Tell me about it, it's from that!" Mike hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the brick building.

Chet took a quick glance over his shoulder. He did a double take and his eyes grew wide. The fire was worse than it had been. "Cap!"

Captain Stanley was standing a few feet away, watching the other stations still battling with the smaller fires. He turned around and saw that massive yellow inferno behind them. The captain shook his head; the hoses had been inadvertently feeding the fire. 

"Oh my God! Cut the hoses!" The men began to protest but he put his hand up. "We're making the other fire worse! Shut it down! The chemical in there is going to-"

The rest of Captain Stanley's words were cut off by a deep rumbling. Everyone turned around, wondering where the sound was coming from. They all realized at the same time what it was. 

A dozen eyes focused on the brick building a split second before it exploded.

The two women gasped as they watched the brick warehouse explode into a giant fireball of thick black smoke. The realization hitting them both that they just might have witnessed the deaths of their husbands. The scene on the television screen was something out of a movie, it didn't seem real, it just couldn't be happening. Unfortunately though, this wasn't something out of a high budged Hollywood movie, this was reality and all the two women could do was watch, powerless to do anything.

The blast was just short of the intensity, pressure and destruction of an atom bomb. The ground shook heavily under the firemen's feet; the giant ripple had even blown the manhole covers from as far away as 6 blocks. The burning hot covers clanging loudly as they came crashing back down to the ground. 

An onslaught of dust, bricks and concrete began raining down from the sky. The firemen that had been close by were sent flying as if they were paper dolls instead of fully grown men. Most of them dropping onto the ground and covering their heads as they were pelted with flying debris and dust. 

Evan was sitting on the floor playing with his blocks and cars, completely oblivious to the horror that was unfolding live on the television screen just above his head. He glanced at it without the slightest interest and went right back to playing. The little baby was much too young to comprehend what was going on, he simply giggled and babbled to himself as he played.

Gillian covered her mouth with her hand, her breath stopping in her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut, turning away from the television screen. 

Min's eyes were growing wet as the grim thought that she might be a widow entered her mind. She shook her head out, refusing to let it stay there. She grabbed Gillian by her shoulders turning the young woman towards her. "Stop it! We don't know for sure! We don't know if they're dead!"

Gillian choked out a sob, her breath coming out as her chest began to hitch. "Mac…"

Min pulled the young woman to her and hugging her hard. "Gillian please… you have to keep calm! We don't know anything!"

The sobbing red haired woman leaned her head against Min's shoulder. "What…what am I supposed to think?"

Min pulled back from her and looked into her face. "You have abilities Gillian; you have a strong connection to your husband, right?"

Gillian wiped her face with a trembling hand. "Yeah…"

The dark haired woman nodded. "Good, now, I want you to focus…can you feel him?"

Min gently brushed the loose hair from Gillian's pony tail away from her face in a calming, motherly gesture.

Gillian took a deep breath and let it out slowly; she touched her jade necklace and held it in her hands as she closed her eyes. 

The tanker trucks arrived, finally showing up after the building had already disintegrated. This meant nothing; the hoses were taken down and aimed at the fireball. The signal was given and the switches were thrown. The gas was discharged, a thick white cloud of it shooting out of the hoses, going directly into the heart of the fireball. After several minutes the intense fire was slowly beginning to die down as the oxygen was sucked out.

The group of firemen watched with heavy hearts. They all stood around the large pile of broken bricks, chunks of concrete and thick dust watching and hoping that the three men that had been in there would somehow have survived. 

The more carbon dioxide that was pumped in, the more those hopes began to shrink. All the men there knew that even if the men had survived the incredible explosion, the carbon dioxide would have made them suffocate. 

The fire was finally put out and as soon as the last flame was extinguished all of the men from the four fire stations descended on the structure in a frantic search for the three missing firemen. No matter what they still had to try and find their missing brethren.

Captain Stanley sighed, shaking his head. "We can't search…the debris is way too hot."

Chet stood beside his captain. "And we can't use the hoses; the water could spark the fire back up again."

"Cap?"

Hank turned around, seeing the sad face of Mike Stoker. "What is it Mike?"

"We found this." Mike had a black helmet in his hands, it was battered and burned. 

Captain Stanley took it and studied it. The black helmet was charred; the number 51 was mostly gone, melted away from the intense heat. The name of the fireman was normally written on the underside of the helmet.  Hank turned it over and looked into it, the name was burned. There were only three letters clearly visible, an A, a G and an E.

Mike swallowed hard. "Gage or MacGyver Cap?"

"I don't know Mike, could be either one."

Stoker took his helmet off and fluffed out his sweaty hair. "God I hope it's not Johnny's, especially not today."

Hank creased his brow. "What's so special about today?"

Mike looked down at the helmet his captain was holding. "It's August 28th Cap."

Captain Stanley groaned, titling his head back. He closed his eyes briefly as his hand covered them. "Oh God…Johnny's birthday is today."

"His 30th."

The dark haired man sighed, shaking his head slowly. His fingers curled around the helmet as a thousand questions began to enter his mind. If this helmet truly belonged to Johnny, how could he possibly tell his wife that her husband had died on his 30th birthday?

Gillian opened her eyes, she had been trying to feel her husband but she couldn't, she was too upset to see things clearly. Min sat beside her, holding her other hand.

"Anything?"

The young woman turned towards her. "I can't tell Min. I've been trying but it's hard to see things when I get emotional."

The television was still on and she turned towards it. The black tanker trucks were there, the hoses were being pulled back out of the building. Gillian shook her head as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Even if they were alive Min, that might not be the case anymore. The carbon dioxide would have made them not be able to breathe."

Min was sitting sideways; she didn't want to look at the screen. "I know."

_"We have just been informed that a foam truck from LAX has been dispatched and is on the way to the scene as we speak. The foam will cool down the debris and allow the firemen to search for the three men and see if their bodies can be recovered."_

Gillian hung her head, wiping her hand down her face. "Not even the firemen think they're alive Min." Her voice was low; the tone of it was quiet and sad.

Min nodded, she was still holding her friend's hand. She gave it another squeeze. "Remember what I said? You have to _trust your husband."_

"Is that why you're not upset?"

The dark haired woman swallowed hard. "It's all I've got to hold onto right now Gill." 

She stood up and walked over to the television. The picture on the screen was of the blinding neon green foam truck showing up on the scene. It had something on the top of the truck that looked like a cannon. It was the same mechanism that the hose was made up of, only larger.  The thick white foam was beginning to be sprayed everywhere.

Min watched it for a few minutes before reaching down and hitting the power button.

"What are you doing Min?"

"Today is Johnny's birthday Gillian; I have a party to get ready for."

Gillian was staring at the back of her friend. Her voice had been so calm, so matter-of-fact. There wasn't even the tiniest hint of the terrible situation that was playing out a few miles away.  

Min seemed so strong, like an oak tree in a hurricane. No matter how strong the wind might be blowing right now; she was unwavering. Gillian found herself admiring her for it, wishing that she could be that brave. Right now the red haired woman's insides felt like gelatin.

"Do you need any help?"

Min turned around slowly, her dark eyes gazing at her friend. "I'd like that… thank you."

Gillian nodded as she stood up; it was time to get the house ready for a birthday party.

Johnny was lying with his face turned to the side in a puddle of water. He slowly opened his eyes, lifting his head slowly. He wiped his face as he looked around. He was in a dim tunnel; the sound of dripping water was all around him.

"Roy? Mac?" His voice echoing loudly in the stone tunnel, reverberating back to him.

He sat up, leaning back on his haunches. "Roy! Mac!" 

The tunnel he was in was full of thick cobwebs, there were pips running along both side of the walls. The last thing he remembered was a deep rumbling and MacGyver shouting for everyone to get down. A blast of hot air and blown through the tunnels. 

Johnny had been slammed down hard against the ground. He looked down at himself, seeing if he was hurt. He saw nothing but black smudges all over his turn out coat. He took his gloves off and tucked them into his pocket. His hands went to his face and head; to his surprise he was all right, but his helmet was gone.

Johnny got on his feet slowly and began to walk down the tunnel, he spotted something ahead. He pushed aside a few thick cobwebs and squinted his eyes. He saw two prone forms lying a few feet apart from each other.

"Guys!" Johnny rushed to partner's side; Roy was lying on his back. He took off his partner's helmet and turned his head to the side. He touched the unconscious man's neck and sighed out of relief when he felt the strong thudding of his partner's heartbeat. 

"Come on, wake up." Johnny patted his face gently.

"Johnny?" Roy groaned as he started to move around. He finally opened his eyes and saw his partner leaning over him. "Are we dead?"

"No we're not dead."

"Tell that to my _head_." Both paramedics turned to see MacGyver was awake; he was sitting up. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah Mac we're fine." Johnny went over by his friend. "What about you? Anything hurt?"

"My head, I think that explosion knocked me into the wall." 

Johnny touched the back of his friend's head. He felt a lump was already beginning to form. "It's just a small bump Mac, you'll live."

MacGyver hissed through his teeth as his friend rubbed the back of his sore head. "Feels like it's the size of a car."

Roy finally got on his feet and looked around. "So what is this place?"

"An old maintenance tunnel." Mac stood up and walked down the tunnel a little ways. "It's a good thing that building was old enough to have one or we'd be nothing more than three piles of black powder."  

Johnny nodded; he knew all too well how close they came to ending up like his four fellow coworkers. "So how do we get out of here?"

"Well, unless I'm mistaken about the age of that building, there should be more than one tunnel. One of them leads to the sewer, and the other _should_ lead to the surface." Mac crouched down and scooped up a handful of water. He splashed a little on his face and wiped it with the sleeve of his coat. The sleeve was now all black and sooty.

Roy bent down and picked up his helmet. He put it back on his head and tightened the strap. "We need to find which one leads to the surface."

MacGyver straightened up; he licked his lips and pressed them together. "Well we know that way is where we just came from so we have no choice but go down this way." He pointed to the right. 

Johnny thought of something and he sighed heavily. "We need to get out of here Mac and the sooner the better."

"What's the rush?"

The dark haired paramedic looked at his blond friend. "Because everyone probably thinks we're dead and the news people should have gotten there by now."

"Oh God." Mac closed his eyes and wiped his hand down his face. "If they've announced that we were in the building…"

Roy shook his head slowly, exhaling loudly. "Then our wives think we're dead."

Johnny nodded. "Right."

That was the end of the discussion; the three men promptly began to run down the tunnel.

Min and Gillian were decorating the Gage house. They had put up some colorful streamers and a large silver banner with the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY in bright multicolored letters. 

Evan had been placed in his swing; the pendulum motion of it had lulled the little boy to sleep.

Gillian sighed as she stood on a small step ladder, hanging up a blue streamer. She had calmed down some; the decorating had actually taken her mind off what was going on.

Min walked out of the French doors, the phone book in her hands. "I just talked to the bakery to check the delivery time; Johnny's cake and the trays are going to be here at 7 o'clock."

"Oh good, what kind of cake is it?"

"Yellow cake with white chocolate frosting."

Min looked down at her sleeping son; she bent down and touched his head gently.  "He looks so much like his father." A strong pain hit Min straight in the stomach; she bit her lip against it as tears began to form in her eyes. 

Gillian heard her sniffling and she looked down at her friend. "Min? Are you okay?"

The young mother straightened up, shaking her head slowly. Gillian climbed down from the ladder, placing her hand on Min's shoulder. 

Min touched it gently. "I was just thinking about how much Evan looks like his father…" She turned around to face her friend. "What if Evan is _all_ I have left of Johnny?"

Gillian didn't know what to say, she stepped closer to Min and hugged her. "You have more of Johnny than just Evan."

Min hugged her friend hard, leaning her head against her shoulder as the tears began to leak from her eyes. "Why can't they tell us anything Gill? Why don't they know if they're alive or dead?"

"I don't know Min, I wish I did." Gill bit into her lip, trying to keep her emotions in check. The last thing either one of them needed was more hysterics. They both needed to keep thinking positively and be strong.

The only thing left of the building was the charred foundation. The last bits of debris were cleared away and much to the surprise of the firemen, there was a hole in the cement foundation. The wooden remains of the floor over it looked at though they had been kicked in.  

Chet took off his helmet and bent down into the hole.  "I need a flashlight!"

Marco handed the curly haired fireman a flashlight. "Here Chet, watch your head."

The flashlight was turned on; the beam of light lit up a dank mini basement. It was filled with rotting wooden slats, and rusted out barrels.

"Oh nice!"

Marco was leaning over the hole. "What do you see? Are they down there?"

"No, which is a good thing I think." Chet shined the flashlight around the tiny room. It hit a manhole cover that had been pushed to one side. "I see a hole!"

Chet slowly pulled himself up, a large smile on his face. He turned around and looked at his captain. "There's a hole Cap, with a cover that's been taken off."

Captain Stanley smiled widely and sighed out of relief.

The house was ready for the party; the only thing missing now was the food, the guests and the birthday boy himself.  Min and Gillian had kept the television off, not wanting to hear anything more about the explosion. All they had now was hope. 

Gillian was in the guest bedroom, sitting on the bed. She was still trying to feel her husband but with no luck. Her emotions and worry were getting in the way. She sighed heavily as she got up from the bed and opened the closet door. She had brought a party dress with her; it was mauve in color with thin straps and a V neckline. 

Gillian put it against her chest as she stood in front of the mirror. The overhead light caught both her silver locket and her jade necklace. Her thoughts drifted to her husband again and she swallowed hard, pushing a large lump down her throat. She turned away from the mirror and laid her dress out on the bed. She picked up her shampoo and a towel; there was a party in a little while that she had to get ready for.

Gillian was already dressed for the party, she had volunteered to take care of Evan and get him dressed while his mother got ready. Evan had been given his dinner and had fallen asleep playing on the living room floor. He had woken up a short time later and needed to get ready for the party too.

Gillian was holding the little boy; she gently laid him down on his changing table. She had put her hair up in a French twist to keep it out of her face. She had left one curl out, it hung down the side of her face. 

It seemed to be endless fascinating to the baby boy. His fingers playing with it, he pulled at it gently amazed that the curl bounced back. This made the young woman smile, making her feel a little better.  

"Thanks Ev." 

She gave him a kiss on his forehead as she leaned over him once again and gently slipped his body suit over his head. She changed his diaper and threw the dirty one away.

"Let's see what we can put you in Evan." 

Gillian picked him up and carried him over to the baby's wooden dresser. She opened the middle drawer and looked over the large selection of bodysuits. "Okay Ev, which one do you want to wear?"

There was a black bodysuit that caught the young woman's attention. It looked like a tiny little tuxedo that was folded in half. "What's this?" She picked it up and unfolded it, a snicker escaping her mouth. "Oh my God!"

Evan reached out towards it, his little fingers curling around it. "I take it this is what you want to wear then?"

A pair of dark eyes looked into hers. He blew a raspberry at her. 

Gillian nodded. "Yeah I think so too. I think that's probably why your mom bought it, so you could wear it to Daddy's party."

She took it with her as she laid Evan back down on his changing table and began to get him dressed.

The door to the master bathroom opened and Min walked into the bedroom, a large blue towel wrapped around her. It was now half past 6 and it was time to get ready for the party. 

Min had chosen a dark blue sleeveless dress.  The design of the dress was simple; it had a paisley design to it, colored with lighter shades of blue. It was lying out on the bed and the young woman sat down beside it. She sighed; her heart just wasn't in this. The only thing on her mind was Johnny. 

Min shook her head as she got up and took off her towel. She opened the top drawer of her dressed and took out a bra and a pair of panties. She slipped them on and the dress. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and once again her thoughts drifted back to her husband. The dress she wore was on of his favorites. Johnny had enjoyed the softness of the material and how it shined. 

The dark haired woman closed her eyes, feeling her husband's strong arms around her. Johnny's gentle hands touching her, the softness of his lips as he kissed her; the love and passion in his eyes as they focused on her; every single detail of the last time she had on this dress seemed fresh and new in her mind.

_Will that be the last time I ever feel his touch again?_ She wondered to herself. The idea that she would never see him again only made her heart ache.

"No! Stop it!" Min wiped her face and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

The food and the cake were due to be delivered in half an hour and she couldn't accept them or pay the delivery man if she wasn't ready. She picked up her brush from the top of her dresser and began to brush out her wet hair.

Evan was sitting in his crib playing, the little tuxedo bodysuit looked absolutely adorable on the baby boy. He was all dressed and ready for the party. 

Gillian was sitting on the couch, her crossed legs bouncing. It was almost seven and as the sky began to darken the young woman waited anxiously for both the food, the cake and any word at all about her husband. 

"Any word?" 

Gillian gasped, nearly hitting the ceiling. She whipped around her dark eyes wide as they gazed at Min. "Uh…no, no word."

Min sighed loudly as she sat down beside her. "This is driving me nuts Gill, am I a widow or _not_!"

"I know its making me nuts too." Gillian gave Min's hand a gentle pat.

The doorbell rang and both women turned to look at the door.

"Well there's the food and the cake." Min stated as she got up.

"I'll give you a hand."

They walked to the door and Min reached out her hand, her fingers curled around the knob as she turned it.

The door was swung open and instead of seeing a delivery man, Min and Gillian saw two dirty, soot covered men. The air seemed to freeze in its tracks as the two men and two women looked at each other.

Min gasped as her eyes focused on the face of her husband. "Johnny?"

The filthy fireman nodded slowly, a bright white, slightly crooked grin appearing on his lips.  His wife didn't say a word, just grabbed her husband and hugged him hard, clinging to him like a drowning woman.

Gillian put her hand to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears as she saw her husband right behind him.

MacGyver smiled, a deep sigh coming out of his mouth. "Hey Gilly Bean."

"Oh God…Mac." Gillian didn't care how dirty she got; she threw her arms around her husband's neck. She squeezed her eyes shut, the tears slowly rolling down her face.

Min started to sob as she buried her head in her husband's shoulder. "I thought... we thought... we didn't know what to think!"

Johnny held his wife to him tightly. "I know Honey, I know, but its okay. We're here and we're all right."

Gillian finally calmed down and let go of Mac, wiping her face. "Are you really okay?" She put both hands on his cheeks, stroking them gently with her fingers.

Mac nodded, touching the back of his head. "Well for the most part yeah, but I have a bump the size of Alaska on my head."

"I'd rather put ice on your _head than a flower on your _grave_." Gill rubbed the back of his head, feeling the lump. "Ooo that's a nice one."_

Min let go of Johnny and everyone came back into the house. The weary firemen took off their coats and set them down by the door. The two men walked into the living room, sighing heavily. It had been a very rough day and all they wanted to do now was rest and clean up.

Evan saw his father, squealing with delight when he spotted him through the side meshing on his playpen.

Johnny saw his son, he smiled once again as he walked around the couch and leaned over the side rail; picking him up.

"Hey Baby!" He held the little boy to him, kissing his head.

Gillian sat her husband down on the couch and climbed into his lap, hugging him around his neck. She wanted nothing more than to just enjoy the feel of him. He was dirty and smelled like a smokehouse but she didn't give a damn about that, the important thing was he was alive and well. 

MacGyver put his hand on his wife's back and rubbed it gently. "I could really use a shower Gill, are you sure you don't want to wait 'til I'm clean to hold me so close?"

Gillian raised her head and turned her husband's face towards her. "I don't care if you are covered with manure and thorns, I'd still hold you." She closed her eyes and kissed his lips gently.

Min and Johnny were standing around the playpen. Evan was still in his father's arms. His mother leaned her head against her husband. "What time is everyone coming for the party?"

"Soon, I better go clean up."

The young woman nodded, taking his hand. "Okay, come on."

Johnny lifted his wife's hand, pressing his lips to it. There was a great amount of affection in that simple gesture. "Let's go get ready."

Min turned to look at her friends on the couch. "We'll be back."

Gillian nodded. "Okay, I have to help Mac get ready for the party too." She got off the couch and went over by the couple. She smiled as she looked at her friend. "I'm glad you're all right Johnny." 

Johnny handed Evan to his mother and hugged his friend. "Yeah me too Gill."

The red haired woman pulled back from the hug and gave his cheek a kiss. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you." The fireman sighed. "This is going to be a great party; I've got a lot to celebrate this year."

Min gave her baby back to his father. "Yeah I'd say you do." She looked at her blond friend and walked over to him, standing before him. "On your feet MacGyver."

Mac raised both of his eyebrows as he got up. His friend looked rather serious. "Yes ma'am." He wasn't sure if she was going to hit him or not.

The dark haired woman grinned and hugged him around the neck. "Thanks for bringing him home in one piece Mac."

"Actually Min it's the other way around." He pulled back from the hug. "Johnny's the one that found the tunnel that got us out of that rather warm situation."

Min sighed, shaking her head. "Rather _warm situation? That's putting it mildly, we saw the building on the news Mac it was a lot more than just warm."_

Johnny leaned Evan against his chest, rubbing the little boy's back gently. "We better get ready for the party."

MacGyver yawned, rubbing his hands over his face. "Yeah my bag is in the Corvette."

Gillian sighed as she put an arm around her husband's waist, leaning against him. "I'll give you a hand."

The two couples left the room, walking down the hall towards their bedrooms.

Min took Evan from his father and put on the floor with some of his toys his parents keep in their room for him to play with.  The little boy was playing happily. 

Min didn't say a word, she simply stood before Johnny, her dark eyes shining as she unbuttoned his uniform shirt and slid it down his arms. He had a light blue t-shirt on underneath and Min let her hands trace over it gently. "I refused to believe you were really gone Johnny, even when the news reports said you, Mac and Roy were presumed dead."

Johnny nodded as he took her hands from his chest and kissed them. "Believe me, we were wondering if we weren't dead too. It wasn't for that maintenance tunnel under that warehouse, we might have been."

Min swallowed hard. "But I kept telling Gillian she had to trust in Mac like I trust in you."

The fireman sat down on the bed, he reached out and took his wife's hand, pulling her close. Johnny hugged his wife around the waist. 

"I always loved that dress."

Min smiled, playing with her husband's dark hair. "Yeah I know, that's why I wore it."

Johnny sighed, holding his wife to him. She felt so comforting and wonderful. "If it wasn't for my birthday party, we would go right to bed." He looked up at her.

His wife stroked his face, leaning over to press her mouth to hers. "Believe me Birthday Boy when the guests leave and the baby is asleep, that's the first place we're heading and sleep is going to be the last thing I want from you." She gave him another kiss. "I better go get Evan and wait for the deliveries, you better get dressed."

Johnny nodded as he stood up. "Okay, I'll be right out."

MacGyver took the world's fastest shower, the bathroom door opened and he stepped out at the exact same time Min was coming down the hall. The blond man's eyes widened, he was standing before his friend in nothing but a white towel around his waist.

"Whoops, this is awkward."

Min turned away suddenly, her face flushing a bright shade of red. "Sorry Mac."

"Uhh, yeah, no problem."

The young woman turned and looked at him again. "But don't worry about it; after all...we're all old _married_ people here." She gave him a wink and continued down the hall.

"Yeah." His face too was red as he went into the spare room and closed the door.

_"Happy Birthday to you…Happy Birthday to you… Happy Birthday dear Johnny… Happy Birthday to you!"_

The sound of applause rang out as the red faced fireman dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white long sleeved shirt leaned over the table and blew out his candles. He sat down at the head of the dining room table as everyone cheered his successful snuffing out of his candles. The entire station was there along with Bo, Mac and Gillian.

Johnny sighed as he helped his wife pull the blue candles from his cake. The dining room table was a sea of food, cups and plates.

Min had a large knife and began to cut the cake the blue cake with the words _HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY _in fancy frosting letters spread out across the top. 

"Having a good birthday Honey?"

Johnny nodded, a deep sigh coming out of his mouth. "It's been unforgettable that's for sure."

Min leaned down and gave him a kiss. "Yeah it has, but I'm just glad you're here to celebrate it."

The birthday boy took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Me too."

Everyone was standing in the dining room area, blue cake plates in hand. The cake was delicious and everyone raved about it, asking Min were it had come from. Johnny finished his cake and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He rose out of his chair and turned around to face everyone.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?"

The talking came to a stop and the party guests' attention focused on the birthday boy.

Johnny signaled for his wife to join him, he reached down and took her hand. "I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here tonight for coming and helping me celebrate my birthday." He shook his head slowly. "You all know what happened today, I was laying down on the floor of that burning warehouse wondering if this party was going to be a birthday celebration or a wake. I'm very glad it was the first and not the latter." He swallowed hard, his dark eyes serious. "But even if it hadn't been, I would have died a happy man." He looked at Min and gave her hand another squeeze. "I've got a beautiful wife, and an adorable little boy that has been teaching me more about life then I've been teaching him. I've got good friends and family that I'm very thankful for." Johnny smiled widely. "I just wanted you all to know how grateful I am for everything and everyone I've got."

MacGyver, Gillian, Roy and JoAnne were all standing on the side of the dining room table. Both men looked at each other and raised their punch glasses. 

Roy smiled widely at his partner. "To Johnny."

Johnny and Min grabbed a glass of punch and did the same, touching theirs against one another's. The birthday boy smiled widely, his face flushing for about the hundredth time that night as everyone raised their glasses and drank to him.

Min had gone to check on Evan, the littlest party guest had been put to bed about an hour into the party. All the excitement and the house filled with people had worn him out. The young mother closed the door quietly as she walked into the kitchen. 

MacGyver, Gillian and Johnny were cleaning up, putting all of the plates and cups into the trash can. Min cleared her throat.

"Say, I seem to be _forgetting_ something."

Johnny had a stack of plates in his hands; he dumped them into the trash. "You did? What?"

MacGyver and Gillian knew exactly what Min was talking about, but played along with her. "What did you forget Min?"

The dark haired woman sighed. "I don't know Mac, _something about today."_

Gillian put the plastic covers back over the half empty trays of food. "Well let's see, you ordered the food, and the cake, had the party… what else is there?"

Min tapped her finger against her cheek. "Hmmmm, think, think think." Her dark eyes widened. "Aha! I know!" She looked at her husband and smiled. "I forgot your present!"

Johnny shook his head. "No, it's all right Min, the party was present enough."

The dark haired woman walked up to her husband and pulled on his arm. "No now, it's a tradition. You _have_ to get the birthday boy a present." She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him around, covering his eyes. 

Gillian and Mac helped Min lead her husband out through the back door into the backyard. The two couples walked across the grass, over to a far corner of the yard by the high fence.

"Ready?"

Johnny sighed. "Yes I'm ready."

Min uncovered her husband's eyes. "Tada! Happy Birthday!"

The fireman gasped loudly, his dark eyes wide. "Holy Cow!"

Right in front of the fireman was a large green marble Jacuzzi, it was a huge octagon filled with bubbling water. Around it was a red wood deck with a roof that looked like a gazebo. 

MacGyver was smiling widely. "Well, what do you think?"

Gillian reached out and touched his arm. "Come on Johnny say something."

Johnny was in shock, he shook his head slowly. "This is unbelievable. It must have been really expensive."

"Well not really Johnny, Min bought the Jacuzzi and we had the deck and little gazebo here built to protect it." Mac reached out and patted his friend on the back. "Happy Birthday Johnny."

The fireman looked at all of them. "I've always wanted one of these."

Min nodded. "I _know_ that's why I got it! You only turn 30 once you know."

Gillian walked up the three steps that led to the deck; she crouched down and touched the water. "Ooo and it's the _perfect temperature." She looked at her husband and two friends. "Let's try it out!"_

Mac widened his eyes at her. "Now?"

"Sure! It's been treated and everything, why not?"

Min nodded. "All right, I've got a bikini you can borrow Gill."

"All right! On second thought..."

Gillian narrowed her eyes at her husband. "Oh _now you approve?"_

MacGyver grinned. "Of course! I always approve of you in a bikini."

Min came out of the bedroom in a teal green bikini, a white towel around her waist. She was on the phone.

"Yes I know and he understands that you both had to leave, okay let me find him, hang on." She walked down the hall and went into the kitchen. 

Johnny and MacGyver were sitting at the table, munching on some of the leftover food. The birthday boy was in his red swimming trunks and MacGyver had borrowed a blue pair from his friend. They both had blue towels hanging around their necks.

"Johnny, here."

He took the phone from her and covered an end of it. "Who is it?"

Min took a piece of cheese from the tray and popped it into her moth. "It's Luke and Daisy calling from Hazzard."

"Oh it is?" Johnny stepped outside and put the phone to his ear, sliding the glass door behind him.

MacGyver raised an eyebrow. "Hazzard? Oh, so that's why they weren't at the party. What are they doing there?"

Min sat down in the chair next to him. "Our uncle's farm is finally paid off, Luke and Daisy went there to get the deed from the new County Commissioner and to check the farm over and make sure it's okay."

Gillian came into the kitchen; she had on a purple bikini. She unfolded her pink towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Hey what's going on?"

MacGyver saw the bikini. "Nice! Purple!" He patted his leg and his wife sat down on it. "Nothing Gill, Johnny's just on the phone with Luke and Daisy."

"They called for his birthday, that's nice."

"Yeah, they really wanted to be here but I'm sure we'll get together with them when they get back."

Johnny tapped on the sliding glass door and waved for everyone to come outside.

The foursome walked over to the Jacuzzi and stepped up onto the deck.

"So what did they say Johnny?" Min took off her towel and slipped her flip flops off of her feet.

The towel came from around Johnny's neck and was set aside. "They just wanted to wish me a Happy Birthday and to let me know that even though they couldn't make it to the party they were thinking about me."

MacGyver set his towel aside and looked down into the swirling water. "Well, let's give this thing a try."

Gillian opened her towel and folded it up neatly, laying it down on the deck. "I say the birthday boy gets the honor of going in first."

Johnny sighed. "All right, I'll go in first."  He moved to the edge and carefully climbed into it his birthday present. He gasped but it quickly turned into a sigh. "Oh man it's nice." He walked over to one corner and sat down, the water climbing a little higher up on his waist.

Min was next, she stepped into the water. "Wow it's so warm!" She sat down next to Johnny, tilting her head back to wet her loose hair.

MacGyver and Gillian held hands and together they moved down into the warm water. 

"Ooo, the bubbles are nice!" Gillian sat down in another corner, right across from Johnny and Min. The Jacuzzi was big; there was a lot of space between them.

"I feel like I'm dinner for a tribe of cannibals." MacGyver slowly sat down beside his wife. He finally relaxed once he got used to the temperature, a smile coming to his face. "Hey, I like this. It's very soothing."

Johnny leaned back against the side. "Yeah me too, especially after the day we had."

"Yeah really, but at least this is the _good kind of heat." Mac sighed as he closed his eyes and sunk down into the water._

Gillian was watching him. "Mac! Get back up here you nut! This is for soaking, not swimming."

Her husband reappeared and smoothed his hair back. "What?"

Min shook her head. "She said this is for soaking not swimming."

Johnny yawned widely. "I know I'm nice and relaxed now, maybe _too_ relaxed." He opened his eyes looked at the other three occupants of his birthday present. "I really like it guys, thank you."

MacGyver and Gillian both smiled at their friend giving him a nod. "You're welcome."

Min moved closer to her husband climbing into his lap. "Well you can show _me_ your appreciation for the gift." She put her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Gillian motioned to the couple with her head. "I think that's a hint Mac, what do you say we go home?"  
Her husband stood up, grabbing his towel. "Yeah I'd say that's a really _big hint."_

Min and Johnny were still in the throes of a deep kiss as MacGyver and Gillian climbed out of the hot tub.

"Don't bother showing us out guys, we can find it."

Gillian shook her head, raising her hand to them. "We'll wash the swim clothes and return them later, good night."

The couple walked towards the house, they glanced over their shoulders to see their two friends were still kissing.

"Well I think I can guess how those two are going to be spending the rest of their evening."  Gillian unfolded her towel and draped it around her shoulders.

"Yeah it's pretty obvious." Mac put his towel over his head and dried his hair. "So are you interested in spending the rest of _our evening like that?"_

Gillian put her arm around her husband's waist as they walked. "Oh I think so, it might not be your birthday Mr. MacGyver but I've got a lot of affection and appreciation to show you."

Mac put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Yeah so do I." 

They pushed the sliding glass door to one side and stepped into the house, closing the door behind them.

Min heard the sound of the door closing and she pulled back from her husband.  She moved to the middle of the Jacuzzi. "Come over here Fireman Gage."

Johnny joined her in the center, his arms wrapping around her. "You rang Mrs. Gage?"

"I've got one more present to give you Johnny." Min put her hands on her husband's arms and moved them higher up on her back to the tie on her bikini. "You just have to open it first."

Johnny grinned as he touched foreheads with Min; he pulled the bow on her bikini top open. He pressed his wife against his chest, pulling the teal green top out from between them. He tossed it over his shoulder onto the deck. "Happy birthday to me…" 

The fireman whispered to himself before giving his wife a long, deep, lingering kiss.


End file.
